Monday, October 15, 2018

Be a Life-Long Learner

Proverbs 16:10

The lips of a king speak as an oracle, and his mouth should not betray justice.


An oracle is a person who delivers authoritative, wise, or highly regarded and influential pronouncements.
When Solomon says that a "king speaks as an oracle" he is revealing the great responsibility of holding a position of authority.  All of you reading this right now hold a position of authority somewhere.  If you are a parent, teacher, pastor, an older sibling, or over the age of 12; this proverb is for you.  We all have influence in this world.  The only question is:  Are you intentional about how you are influencing others?

Most people want to hold the position of the king because all they see are the benefits and blessings of his success.  The problem is that few people want to do the heavy lifting of becoming worthy to be the king.  It is hard work to intentionally work on yourself.  It takes time, study, and hard work to develop the wisdom to lead effectively with love and justice.  Look at the definition of "oracle" above.  How many people do you know that meet those qualifications to be king.  Too many people don't care about justice.  All they care about is what they want, what benefits them personally.

Solomon makes it clear that with the blessing of authority comes great responsibility.  What are you currently doing to make sure that your lips are speaking wisdom and justice?
If your answer is, "uhhh" or "Nothing", then you are failing those who have been entrusted to your leadership.  If you are not reading, listening, and associating everyday with the intention of getting better, then you are taking your blessing of authority (leadership) for granted.

If your attitude is:  "The Holy Spirit will give me what I need when I need it", you are putting the Lord to the test.  It is true that the Holy Spirit can just give you the wisdom needed for your situation, but the reality is that the Holy Spirit generally, and almost always, works through a means.  He works through your hours of preparation.  He works through your daily Leadership Education (read, listen, associate).  The Holy Spirit gives wisdom and profound insights to those who are working at it through their daily self-directed education.  Being lazy in your education and study isn't faithfulness, it's arrogance. 

I encourage you not to put the Lord to the test.  Take responsibility for your life-long education and marvel at how He chooses to use you.  If you do this, you will be greatly blessed.

God bless
Jason Fredrick

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