Wise People Treasure Knowledge

March 3, 2020 by Leesha Chamberlain Leave a Comment

In our previous Wisdom Note, we explored Proverbs 10:9-13. All of Proverbs give us bits of wisdom to help us live a rich and satisfying life while creating a living legacy. If you miss any of our Wisdom Notes please go to the blog to catch previous installments.

The Book of Proverbs is considered the book of wisdom. This week we will explore verses 14-17 of Chapter 10:

As we continue this new year, it is a good time to consume and then reflect on these short and concise nuggets of wisdom. As mentioned before, regardless of whether you consider yourself a person of faith, the common sense tidbits of wisdom found in Proverbs apply to everyone. Let’s continue as we gain wisdom, insight, and understanding with each new bite.

We become what we think about most, which is based on the type of information we allow into our minds. In order to change and improve, we must change what we think about. This requires that we remove the old thoughts and transplant good and godly knowledge into our minds. This is one of our objectives as we consider these nuggets of wisdom in Proverbs. Let their wisdom be transplanted in your minds, replacing those thoughts which are not good. That brings us to our starting point for today which is…

Wise People Treasure Knowledge – Proverbs 10:14-17

Let’s start right in digging for those wisdom nuggets in verse 14:

Wise people treasure knowledge,
but the babbling of a fool invites disaster.

If you desire to be a wise person, then you must be willing to learn, to study, and to expand your knowledge. You must seek for it as if it were a treasure. One thing that I have learned through the years is that you cannot learn when your mouth is open, unless it is to ask a question. In contrast to this is someone who is always talking, expounding on their so-called “wisdom” but actually babbling, as it is referred to in this verse. This person has a foolish concept of themselves. Since he is talking, he is unable to learn. Therefore, he will not make wise decisions in his life. This will ultimately lead to disaster and hardship.

The wealth of the rich is their fortress;
the poverty of the poor is their destruction.

In this world, there are advantages to having wealth. There is no other way to look at it. God never condemns a person for being wealthy. He just cautions us not to allow wealth to take His place in our lives. Financial success provides us with many more options in life. The analogy of a fortress here has significance. A fortress was used as a means of protection from outsiders who would like to harm a town or group of people. If we are able to accumulate wealth, we should use it to help and protect those that are in need. It will not only be a fortress for us but can also provide a place of safety to those who are in poverty. Without that assistance, those who are poor will be taken advantage of and run into destruction.

The earnings of the godly enhance their lives,
but evil people squander their money on sin.

This verse dovetails nicely into the previous one. If we are wise financially, then our lives and the lives of those we impact will be enhanced. As a wise person who is good and godly, the financial decisions that we make are based on the precepts in God’s Word. We can invest our resources into the lives of those that we impact. In contrast to this, if we are not wise with our financial decisions, it will be evident because our resources will be squandered on those activities that are not pleasing to God, nor in line with His precepts.

People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life,
but those who ignore correction will go astray.

Let me ask you this question. Do you like to be disciplined? I know I struggle with the concept of it, and you probably do also. It may be that our connotation of discipline is skewed today. To be disciplined is to become a disciple of another, who is a master. It is the basic premise of learning, of being eager and willing to improve, even when your shortcomings are pointed out. It gives you a plan and a way to improve because you know what the standard is for achievement.

When you are willing to accept discipline, then you are gaining wisdom, which puts you on the trail to becoming better. In contrast to this is the person who refuses to be disciplined or corrected. This person will end up on his own trail, which will not lead to a successful life. This person will find himself wandering without direction or a plan for his life.

There are so many morsels of wisdom found in the book of Proverbs, and we are taking them slowly. As we uncover each one, let them melt within your soul in the same manner that chocolate melts in a finely made s’more. Let them permeate your thoughts and impact your life so that your living legacy will shine through for everyone to see. We will continue with a few more nuggets of wisdom from Chapter 10 in our next note. In addition to our weekly Wisdom Notes, encourage your friends and family to also join us on our daily podcast – Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Life Is Like a Seed, Part 1

July 28, 2019 by Leesha Chamberlain Leave a Comment

Within Wisdom Note this week, we will begin a three-part series on how life is like a seed. There are so many lessons that we can learn from farming. It is rich in its analogies of life. Growing up on a farm, more specifically an apple orchard, we learned first hand the struggles and hardships of farming. So it is with life at times, but unless we plant good seeds continually, we will never reap a good harvest.

God instructs us to learn spiritual principles from Creation. Have you considered the example of the seed?

Let time travel backward a few months and imagine that it is now springtime! Farmers are busy planting their fields. Gardeners are cleaning up their yards and preparing their gardens. They are taking little seeds and placing them in the ground so that they will grow into beautiful flowers and fruitful plants. There is nothing quite like a bouquet of fresh flowers or the taste of fresh vegetables from your own garden!

Growing up on the farm, our primary crop was apples from the 40 acres of apple trees in our orchard. We also had a very large vegetable and flower garden that we all worked in. Regardless if the plant is an apple tree, corn stalk, or hollyhock flower, each one starts with a seed of the same kind of plant.

Seeds come in different shapes and sizes, with each type having different requirements for germination (the process in which seeds sprout and begin to grow). Small seeds must be placed as delicately as possible in the soil so that they do not get buried too deep. They are usually planted together in groups, ensuring that some will grow into thriving plants. Larger seeds, on the other hand, are buried deeper and generally with fewer in a group. Some seeds prefer warm, dry environments while others require environments that are cold and moist. There are seeds that germinate in less than five days while others take five months—or even longer!

Because there is a wide range of seed types, man has learned a seemingly endless variety of methods to cause seeds to sprout and grow. One common treatment is exposing the seed to a cold, almost freezing, temperature for a specific length of time, mimicking winter. Certain seeds, such as some carnivorous plants from Australia or some pine cones germinate when they are exposed to fire. Some germinate when immersed in water. Others, such as Cyclamen, germinate when they are kept in the dark for a certain period. Hard-shell seeds must be scarred or cracked. Some seeds can sit dormant for several years before something triggers them to germinate.

As you will come to see, the seed has many spiritual parallels to God’s work and our Christian lives. Following the teaching of Jesus when he shared the message of the end times in Mark 13:28-29, “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that his return is very near, right at the door.” So now let us “learn a lesson” and learn the example of the seed.

What Is a Seed?

A seed is basically a copy of the plant it came from. Genetically, it has all the information needed to grow into a complete plant. A seed consists of an embryo and a food store, surrounded and protected by an outer seed coat. The food store is large enough to allow the plant to grow its first leaves so that it can start producing its own food through the plant and roots. The outer coat varies in size and thickness, depending on the plant. Under the right conditions, this perfect little “package” will grow and develop into a wonderful new plant, providing food, shelter, or beauty.

As mentioned earlier, a seed with a thicker shell may need to be scarred or cracked to ensure germination. In addition, some seed embryos are not fully developed for germination. In such cases, the seed needs to go through a waiting or curing period before it is ready.

One universal truth of every plant that grows from a seed is that the original seed will die or be destroyed in the process of the birth and growth of the new plant. In the same manner, for God’s salvation to grow through his disciples, the original seed, which is Christ, had to die. This is taught by Jesus in John 12:23-26, “Jesus replied, ‘Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.'”

In our Wisdom Note for this week, we had our first of three lessons on how life is like a seed. We considered the example of the seed, what the seed is made of, and that to produce fruit the seed must die to itself. Next we will explore the five basic conditions that every seed needs to grow.

How to Become a Mentor

February 28, 2019 by Leesha Chamberlain Leave a Comment

Attaining Mentor Status

Within our Wisdom Note, we want to consider the three character traits required to create a living legacy. In order to create a legacy, we must be able to lead or mentor others. In order to lead and mentor others, we need to traverse certain trails, or you might say, put into practice certain habits that will allow us to attain the status of a leader and mentor. I will be so brash today as to say that we cannot positively lead or mentor others unless we hike these three trails on a regular basis.

The model for our Wisdom Note today shows us the three trails that we will travel and are learned from a Hebrew priest Ezra who was taken into exile in Babylon by King Artaxerxes. Ezra was allowed to return to Jerusalem to assess the city’s condition. In Chapter 7 verses 8 through 10, “Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in August of that year. He had arranged to leave Babylon on April 8, the first day of the New Year, and he arrived in Jerusalem on August 4, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the Lord and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel.”

Verse 10 gives us the pattern to follow in order to become leaders and mentors.

1. Learn it.

Our first trail that we will explore is the “Learn It” trail. Before you can ever hope to lead or mentor others you must first learn the practical lessons of life and grow in wisdom yourself. You need to foster the spirit of continual learning within yourself. With the resources that are available using today’s technology, there is no excuse for remaining unlearned or ignorant in any area of life. In fact, as rapidly as the world is changing, if you are not continually learning, then you will quickly lose your skills and, therefore, your value in many areas of life.

“The most important skill to acquire is learning how to learn.”

Be a lifelong student. Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. “The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young,” Henry Ford.

The more you learn, the more you earn, and the more self-confidence you will have. Learning does take self-discipline. In fact Proverbs 12:1 says, “To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.” And Proverbs 18:15 puts it this way, “Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge.” As we look back at Ezra 7:10, we see that “Ezra had determined to study.”

2. Live it.

The second trail that we explore is the “Live It” trail. You need to apply what you have learned to your life and live it each day. It needs to become part of the very fabric of your life. What actually generates tangible results in your life is to regularly and consistently apply what you have learned. The whole point of absorbing new information is so that you can apply it in everyday life.

Leadership or mentorship is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions. You have to live what you have learned each day. Yes, you need to learn from others who are wise, but you will also need to display wisdom. Practicing what you have learned is not a one-time occurrence, but it becomes a habit in your life. It becomes who you are. This results in a life of integrity.

“Learning the golden rule is of no value until you practice it.”

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians stated it in this manner in Chapter 4 verse 9, “Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

We see that “Ezra put into practice what he studied: and obey the Law of the Lord.”

3. Loan it.

The third trail to explore is the “Loan It” trail. Once you have taken the time to learn how to be a good leader and mentor and have shown with your life that you practice what you have learned, it is a crime to your world if you do not loan that wisdom to others by leading and mentoring them.

It is your obligation and responsibility to help others. I call this loaning to others because you always retain what you have learned and practiced, even when you share it with others. It is the multiplier effect. It is an abundance mentality. The more you learn and share with others, the more it multiplies.

Whatever your field of endeavor, mentoring is an important part of what you do. In fact, I would say it is a requirement.

A large part of mentoring requires that you awaken in others their sleeping talents and abilities. It is difficult to actually teach others; it is more about giving to them the ability to think and learn on their own. If you teach people how to think, you will prepare them to deal with life with greater capability than teaching them what to think.

As mentioned in Proverbs 1:2-4, as a leader and mentor our primary objective should be to, “teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise…to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair…this will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.”

Now, this is true mentoring. “As a mentor, real satisfaction comes when you inspire others to be the best that they can be.” Ezra did the same “to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel.”

As your guide, friend, mentor, and fellow sojourner, let me know how I can help you become a better leader and mentor to your tribe.