Proverbs 27:21 (ESV) The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise.

I would rather be tested by curses any day, than tested by praise. It is when men speak well of me that I am most prone. How I lap it up – like a dog will lap up something sweet left unguarded – almost compulsively and without restraint. We will bend more toward those who flatter us, than yield to the pressure of those who cast insults our way. It is harder for us to disappoint those whose opinions we respect and have previously enjoyed than to cast off the mud slung by known enemies. This is the real test. Lord, spare me from it.

“Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.” (Proverbs 30:8-9)

Better the crucible, better the furnace – than the adoration of men – especially when it is sincere.

“An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue. Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.” (Proverbs 17:4-5, ESV)

Why are we so quick to listen to speech which denigrates others and speaks evil of them? Why is it we delight in the character assassination which is so prevalent in the media today?

The answer is no further away than our own hearts. The truth is, if there were no market for it – if we didn’t drink it up and support those who do it – it could not last long as a publicly indulged commodity.

As Christians, we ought to be concerned that our taste for gossip is nearly insatiable. That we love to hear ‘dirt” on others, and especially rejoice to hear of the failures and miseries of those we disagree with, oppose or dislike.

This state of affairs is not due to the fodder itself, but to the wickedness in our hearts which likes to drink it up like sweet tea, and re-package it for the next consumer.

So it is we are warned in vs. 5, that whoever mocks the impoverished – whether we think of them as morally impoverished, doctrinally poor, monetarily bereft, intellectually deficient or politically bankrupt – must never forget these are creatures of the same God who made and owns us. And if and when we take shameless delight in their woes – we ourselves will not unpunished for such hearts.

Father, forgive us. And give us hearts and minds of compassion.

” My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.” (Proverbs 2:1-8, ESV)

Part 2 / We saw in Part 1 that spiritual maturity is not a matter of getting a sudden growth-jolt at a special meeting or seminar. Nor does it come by merely being around spiritual matters. Nor does it just happen. We must pursue it. Growing in God’s wisdom takes effort. It takes an investment of time and right labor. But as the balance of this passage reveals, the benefits are big. In fact, what is quite certain is that a number of the benefits listed, are the very ones most of us – while still spiritually immature – cry out after most. In this case, we need to stop whining about what we do not have, and begin to use the tools God has appointed for obtaining them – to secure them for ourselves. We looked at those tools in Part 1. Now we look at the benefits. [CLICK FOR THE REST BELOW]

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” My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.” (Proverbs 2:1-8, ESV)

Part 1 / Wisdom and spiritual knowledge are not gained by osmosis, sporadic study, lazy attempts at searching out God’s Word or abstract magical insights. We must set a value on it first. Treat it like treasure. Keeping our eye and ear peeled for it – looking for it all the time. Praying for it and then taking the pick and shovel and digging, sifting, searching, refining, and looking for more. Nothing less will yield the result of understanding the fear of the Lord, and finding the knowledge of God.

Notice Solomon’s keys here for gaining God’s wisdom:

1. God’s Word must be RECEIVED (vs. 1). We cannot obtain and understand the Word, if we do not take it in. We must be receiving it. Do you take it in every day? Then how will you understand and apply it?

2. God’s Word must be TREASURED (vs. 1). We must count His communication to us as valuable. Every syllable. Nothing omitted. God never makes small talk. Everything He has to say is of eternal importance. Do I treat His Word as an inestimable treasure?

3. My heart must be ATTENTIVE to His Word (vs. 2). I cannot just let it pass in one ear and out of the other. I must take it in, consider it, mull it over until I understand it and think about its implications. Otherwise, it will do me no more good than rubbing an aspirin on my head in an attempt to ease a headache.

4. I must INCLINE my heart to understanding (vs. 2). I must have a heart that intends to respond positively to what is heard. I must want to know the truth. If I have no intention of obeying God’s Word, it will not yield its treasures up to me.

5. I must PRAY to understand and apply it (vs. 3). I must CALL OUT, and RAISE [my] VOICE to God in regard to it. I must make my application to the Author, to have Him give me the same light to read it by, that He penned it by. The same Holy Spirit who breathed it into the human scribes, must breathe it afresh in me if it is to have any effect. And I must be actively engaged in the pursuit of that in prayer if I would have it become my own.

6. I must SEEK for it. (vs. 4) Those who sit back waiting for God’s wisdom to just seep into their brains and hearts without doing the necessary labor – are in for a rude awakening. You cannot sit in a vat of food and imagine you’ll get nutrition. One must do all the necessary work of planting, cultivating, harvesting, preparing, cooking – and yes – eating.

7. THEN – and ONLY then, will we actually obtain. (vss. 5-8). Because true Godly wisdom is something we can gain only from Him Himself. And this, is how He desires for us to get it from His own hand.