Integrity- BE A LEARNER BEFORE BEING A TEACHER- Wednesday
Integrity
by
Rocky Fleming
Wednesday - Be a Learner Before Being a Teacher
"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 2:6-8 ESV)
Let's contrast the scripture above with this next one: "Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions." (Proverbs 18:2 NIV)
Let's make a comparison and understand what we are being taught. The first verse references two key facts which are that God gives wisdom to the upright person, and God is a protector for those who walk in integrity. An upright person can be seen as someone who lives in conformity to God's truths. Integrity in essence means incorruptible, honest and adhering to a pattern of good works. Integrity shows godly characteristics because God is the Father of integrity. Being upright means we are a learner from God and we live our life conformed to His truths. They sound a lot alike but one is the Source and the other the results of what we get from the Source.
What happens if we remove the Source of wisdom and the integrity that comes from it...what do we get? This is what produces a fool. The fool does not seek understanding. He or she only wants to talk. This person wants to air his or her opinions whether they are well founded or not. Have you been around such a person? Unfortunately I have. Words spew out with no meaning or end. On and on this person takes hostage our space, our time, our emotions and we get so angry we want to answer them the way they speak to us. But be careful, for this is where the verse in Proverbs warns us to not step into the fool's words:
"Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him." (Proverbs 26:4 NIV)
The human being will be influenced by a lot of things, from culture to time of life, from family to friends. The worst influence we can have in our life comes from a fool and someone who is reckless with their words. Someone who is a gossiper, someone who only wants to be heard and not be taught fits that description. Better stay away from this kind of person, or at least do not join them in their word folly or you will be like them. The best influence we can have comes from the gentle and loving presence of the Holy Spirit who gives us wisdom to live our life and the courage to live with our integrity. Try to be around people who reflect Him. We can get that wisdom no other way except by seeking it from the Lord, and from other people who do the same. The good news is that He wants us to seek it. He will give it if we seek it and we will grow in wisdom from it when we get it.
If we will ever enter a place of teacher, mentor, disciple maker, or leader we must be a learner from Jesus before we attempt to do these things or we will be a blind person leading a blind person. There is a reason that Paul cautions Timothy in 1 Timothy 3 to not allow a recent convert to be a leader in the church. We have a lot to learn from God our Leader before we attempt to lead others. Our first thought and activity, even though people might want to press us into service too soon, is to learn to seek and listen to God's wisdom for our own life, and before we seek to help others. Then we can help a blind person see the Light, for that is what opened our own eyes.