| “Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.” – Ecclesiastes 4:13 |
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| Our verse to DATE the Word on April 13 (4/13) is Ecclesiastes 4:13. Ecclesiastes 4:13 says, “Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.” YOU ARE NEVER TO BE TOO OLD TO LEARN or BE CORRECTED There is an old statement that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks. It is used to speak of a person who has become resistant to change. The “old stubborn dog” usually follows that statement with “I am too old to change.” While one might understand how as we get older it is harder to change, we MUST be careful not to become resistant to CORRECTION. As you have gotten older have you become more resistant to being corrected? A reality check is that each of us will continually face temptations no matter our age. Unfortunately, we will still commit sins. When that happens, we are going to be admonished by the Holy Spirit and at times the Holy Spirit will use another person to say a word of rebuke or reproof, a word of warning to correct us. Will you, regardless of age, be willing to be admonished? Will you receive the rebuke? Our verse to DATE is a verse of comparative wisdom. A comparative is when you have BETTER and THAN in the verse. Here Solomon writes that a poor youth with wisdom is BETTER THAN an old king who is foolish and cannot be corrected. The poor youth may not be viewed with much value, but he has more going for him than the powerful king. The poor youth is wise, which means he can be corrected, whereas the powerful king is foolish and will not be corrected. As a reminder about who the wise are notice some verses from Proverbs: Proverbs 13:1 A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. Proverbs 15:31 The ear that hears the rebukes of life will abide among the wise. 32 He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding. Proverbs 9:8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you. How do you respond to admonishment (someone speaking the truth into your mind)? How do you respond to someone loving you enough to point out a character flaw? Do you have a mindset, no matter your age, that you would want a righteous person to admonish you? Do you still pray Psalm 141:5? It says, “Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it.” The poor youth is wiser and better off than the old king because the youth is coachable and teachable and most importantly can be corrected and will change. When you can be corrected you can get back on the right path. When you resist and reject the admonishment to return to the right path you continue down a path to destruction. Let us not become an old stubborn, foolish “dog” that cannot be corrected! Stay humble and be humble. Keep listening and keep learning. Receive rebukes. Make adjustments as you receive admonishment! Verse to DATE the Word on April 13 (4/13) is Ecclesiastes 4:13. It says, “Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.” Maybe in reading this today you need to repent of not being receptive to the call to repent. Continue Strong being receptive to the rebukes of life, And remember to DATE the Word |