Moving Beyond Ignorance
This devotional was written by Kelly McFadden
Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And whatever else you do, get good judgment. —Proverbs 4:7 (NLT)
When my husband and I were first married, we moved into an apartment that had a washer and dryer. We were thrilled. It was nice and easy, our laundry done in our own home. The machines were hooked up when we got there and since many items were dusty from moving, we put our prized machines to work. This was when we realized our dryer didn’t exactly dry. We would have to run our dryer at least four times in order to get one medium-sized load dry. With a shrug of our shoulders, we knew what the problem was. We had a cheap dryer. We vowed never to buy that brand again.
A year and a half passed and some friends stayed at our place while we were out of town. The note they left us upon our return said this: “Thanks for letting us stay. We had a great time. And by the way, the hinge to the vent of your dryer wasn’t fastened on properly so your dryer wasn’t working. I fixed it, it should be fine now.” My husband and I looked at the note dumbfounded. A year and a half of a broken dryer was not the fault of the manufacturer; it was a human error – our ignorance.
The book of Proverbs emphasizes the importance of wisdom. Usually, when wisdom is mentioned, the reader is called to action. Seek wisdom, gain wisdom, desire wisdom, ask for wisdom, pay attention to wisdom, etc. Believers are to be active in seeking godly wisdom.
When I look back at the situation with our dryer, I am struck that my husband and I never took action, never asked around about it, never looked online to problem-solve, never even considered for a moment that we were wrong. We simply continued on in ignorance. All along we had blamed the dryer, when in reality, if we had just sought help, we could have fixed the problem easily.
How often do you move forward thinking you have all the answers, only to realize you don’t have the right answer? If you are like me, it happens more than you want to admit. The Bible is clear that we are to seek wisdom. Not just once, but everyday of our lives. It will take determination and desire, but as the Proverbs point out, seeking wisdom is among the most important things you can do!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Why is it so important to seek wisdom?
2. What are ways you can be active in seeking wisdom?
FURTHER READING:
1 Corinthians 2:6; Ephesians 1:16-17; James 3:17
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