Bible
Study: Deuteronomy 4, 1 and 5 to 9. Matthew 5, 17 to 19.
To be
considered wise is something we all desire. No one ever rates wisdom as a luxury.
You may not feel bad knowing you cannot afford to buy a plate made of pure gold
when you have lots of beautiful ceramic plates at home. That is a luxury item.
But if one should tell you that you are not wise, I bet you will not take it
lightly with him or her.
As much as
we do not like to be told we are foolish, the truth is that based on the
Bible’s definition of wisdom, we are all very foolish. How? Consider these
words of Moses in today’s first reading: “Behold, I have taught you statutes
and ordinances … Keep them and do them; for that will be your WISDOM and your
understanding in the sight of the peoples.” Deuteronomy 4, 5 to 6. That is to
say, every time we go against any of God’s commands, we are just being foolish.
No wonder,
the Bible says: “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.” Psalm 110, verse
10. It is not possible to fear God without obeying his commandments and by
obeying, our wisdom is further manifested. It is an irony that a lot of persons
break God’s commandments and still go about praising themselves as wise!
To the
extent that we fear God, we obey him and by obeying, we are actually being
wise. This means anyone who breaks God’s commandments is a real fool. This was
why the people were having trouble with Jesus. They felt he was going against
God’s commandments while at the same claiming to be holy. Jesus responds by
telling them, he had not come to abolish but to fulfill the Law. By his
teachings and exemplary life, Jesus went beyond the letter of the law, he
showed us the true spirit of the Law.
When we
consider that the summary of all God’s commandment is love, we cannot see that
each time we love, we are wise! Hatred, unforgiveness, enmity and strife may
look wonderful to us but in all honestly whatever lessens love in our hearts
amounts to pure foolishness.
Let us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, make me conscious of what it takes to be really wise at all times. Amen.
God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is
well with you.
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