The Words of the Wise

 The truth can be painful. It can cut us to the heart. It can really hurt us to learn that we have been wrong. When we are confronted by our errors, we have to choose to admit our mistakes and change our actions and beliefs. Many times we just try to cover up everything because we think of what other people will say if they find out. However, if we don't let the pain teach us, we are the losers. We will continue to mess up things that are important in life.

Solomon realized this reality as he shared the great wisdom God had given him. He was trying to help people, but they did not want to deal with many of the things that God had taught him. This was his conclusion after all that he experienced. (Ecclesiastes 12:11) "The words of the wise are like cattle prods - painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep." That is an excellent way to describe the words of the wise.

Most of us don't really reach the level of being considered wise people. We are like cattle. We are proned to follow the herd. We do not really think for ourselves, we just do what everyone else is doing. This makes it harder for us to think  as individuals and do things we need to do on our own. Therefore, the words of the wise come to us like a cattle prod used by the rancher to single out a cow to make it go the right way or to get the help it needs. The prod hurts, but it helps get the right results.

Also, we are all like sheep. As I have said many times, sheep are not very smart, and they can't defend themselves or find the food and water they need to live. The shepherd has to have a nail-studded stick to whack them on the behind and get through their coat, so they get the message they need to hear. People like sheep can read through the book of Proverbs, and it doesn't phase them at all unless they get hit by someone or something to wake them up. I pray that we will all learn from this so we don't have to feel the prod or the stick that brings us pain, but we will just hear the truth and accept it.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Song of Solomon 3-5.