Time Travel
Proverbs Chapter 5 warns of the danger that always accompanies adultery (as well as the desire that leads to it).
But lying beneath this message is one of time, and how wisdom can place you years ahead of your time.
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!
13 I would not obey my teachers
or listen to my instructors.
14 I have come to the brink of utter ruin
in the midst of the whole assembly.”
Shapiro says it beautifully:
“Abide in your heart, for without this connection each year is more bitter than the next…
Your final days will be plagued with self-criticism and your last moments haunted by regret. Your final thoughts will be cries of despair.”
“How could I have hated discipline, and turned a deaf ear to my teachers?
How could I have ignored wisdom’s promise and surrendered to fleeting pleasure?”
Have you ever said, “Wow, if I knew then what I know now ______”? Fill in the blank. Isn’t it something how experience and maturity give us wisdom? Looking back on your life there are certainly things you would have done differently if you knew then what you know now. So the natural question becomes, “What will I know in the future that may change my attitudes and actions NOW?”
So you want to travel in time? Gain wisdom beyond your years?
Just look at verses 11 through 14. Or jump to the end of the chapter.
21 For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD,
and he examines all his paths.
22 The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him;
the cords of his sin hold him fast.
23 He will die for lack of discipline,
led astray by his own great folly.
Avoid the pain of a bitter old age (or whatever your age is now!)
Just heed the word. Go back to verse 1.
1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom,
listen well to my words of insight,
2 that you may maintain discretion
and your lips may preserve knowledge.
And answer the questions posed by Shapiro:
“How could I have hated discipline, and turned a deaf ear to my teachers?
How could I have ignored wisdom’s promise and surrendered to fleeting pleasure?”
Unless you heed Wisdom’s call now, this is what you will be asking down the road. You may even be asking them now. But it’s not too late. Listen to the Spirit talking to you and act now, without delay.
21 For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.
Examine your path. Confirm you are on the right path. Then, one day you will be able to say that you chose wisdom and it served you well for many years.
It may be sooner than you think.
Don’t forget…
HHH notes available in the “Resources” section
http://proverbsforlife.com/proverbs-resources-and-downloads/