Saturday, February 26, 2011

Wisdom and Understanding--Keys to Success

As we began exploring the natural laws from the Book of Proverbs in my last blog, our focus was on the basic ingredients for success, knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is a system of truth and wisdom is the application of that truth. In Proverbs, chapter 2, verses 10 and 11 we read:

Vs.10 When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, Vs.11 Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you.

As we apply knowledge, we get wisdom. Interestingly, wisdom is not always sunshine and roses. We get wisdom when we do the right thing, and the wrong! Wisdom is learning from our mistakes and not doing the same wrong thing over and over. Wisdom should produce discretion, i.e., the common sense not to do the wrong thing again. When we naturally are able to do the right thing consistently, we have achieved understanding in our hearts that will promote good results in our lives.

Notice we're talking about our hearts, not our minds. One of Webster's definitions of heart is:

"The human heart considered as the center or source of emotions, personality attributes; specifically inmost thoughts and feelings, consciousness or conscience, the source of emotions, the source of intellect, one's emotional nature or disposition, any of various human feelings such as love, devotion or sympathy, mood, spirit, resolution, courage, etc."

Actually, the heart is all that man or woman is! It is the reservoir of who we are. So a key to life success is allowing wisdom to work its way into our hearts. When wisdom controls, we succeed. When our natural inclinations and actions control, we usually don't win!

I remember a story told by a veteran pastor. After 20 plus years in the pulpit, his wife called his office to tell him the natural grandparents of his adopted children has just forcefully taken their children from their home. Knowing where the grandparents lived, the pastor jumped in his car and drove to a local pawn shop, bought two large caliber hand guns and all the ammunition he could carry. He then sped toward the grandparent's home with every intention of shooting everything above 5 feet tall in the house! Fortunately, he was stopped by a friend who was a highway patrolman and was not able to carry out the things in his heart. When he shared this story, he concluded with a lesson for us all: The heart of man and woman is deceitfully wicked and none of us know what we are capable of in times of trouble!

As we begin exploring these natural laws for success, it is a good time for honesty with ourselves. What is in our hearts that may be standing in the way of our success in marriage, business or life? It may be time to ask for help to get understanding! If you have questions or comments, post them to this blog and indicate if you prefer not to have them published. If you'd like to participate in this journey with me, be sure to sign up as a follower to receive notice of each of my posts. I pray you will be filled with wisdom and understanding!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Are There Laws for Success? Join Me and See!

I'm sure if you watch the Saturday infomercials your answer to this question would be yes. At least the merchandisers of success would like us to believe they have the secrets to success!

The truth is laws for success were established in the earth thousands of years ago. These laws for success parallel natural and scientific laws that operate on the earth such as gravity, seasons for planting and harvesting and even thermodynamics just to name a few. One does not have to believe in these natural laws for them to work. They just do!

The natural laws for success are documented in the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible. People of many faiths, and some with no faith at all, have obeyed these laws and found success in many areas of their lives.
,
These natural laws for success are the foundation of all ethics, in our personal lives and in our work. During 2011, we'll explore these laws and their applications.

To begin, here are the purposes of the Book of Proverbs in chapter one, verses two through five:

Vs. 2: To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, Vs. 3: To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity; Vs. 4: To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion-- Vs. 5: A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, .....

Two of the key ingredients mentioned here are knowledge and wisdom. In reality, one is not the other! Knowledge is a system of truth and wisdom is the application of the system. Join me over the next few months as we explore these natural laws for success!