A wise versus a foolish heart

(1 Ki 3:7-9)  And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. {8} And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. {9} Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

 

      Solomon asked God for an understanding heart so that he might rule God’s people in righteousness and lead them in favor with God. The word for “understanding” literally means to hear; obey, so Solomon was asking God for a heart that would be attuned to God’s voice and one that would obey God’s voice and word. The Scripture credits Solomon with being the wisest man alive. When two harlots came before him to settle an argument about a baby, Solomon displayed great wisdom in that determination and it says, “all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.”

     A wise heart is necessary for those who are responsible for the oversight of others – their safety and wellbeing. Who needs this? Pastors, parents, leaders (national and state level), business execs and others. The many situations that arise in life call for wisdom from God to understand and make proper decisions and give proper directions. When we make wise decisions we first look at the situation through God’s eyes and with much forethought.

God links wisdom and understanding together – “The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge” When God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle in the wilderness, He gave wisdom and ability to people to do the work, “And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, {4} To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,” Understanding brings knowledge to verify wisdom and then make practical application. Understanding involves the knowledge of the nature of God and how it relates to practical living. Understanding is also a deeper awareness of reality. Too many people are “Idealists” living in a real world; when things don’t work out as they think they should their world is turned upside down and they have difficulty coping with what happens. We need to be realists living in a real world – this is part of understanding. As realists we live in the real world and look for the ideal world (heaven).

      A wise heart is the result of seeking God and asking for His wisdom – “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” Remember also that the word for understanding means to hear and obey, so if we ask God for wisdom He will give it to us but if we refuse to hear Him as He speaks (whether through others or His word) and then obey, we cannot expect to receive wisdom.

      A foolish heart is one that ignores God’s voice in Scripture or from His spokesman. The foolish heart does not accept that they will give account for their life as well as their thoughts and words. A foolish heart thinks that man’s knowledge is greater and better than God’s – “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. {22} Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,” Man is so foolish to think that God could not create this world in six days or that He can sustain it by His very thoughts, so they imagine that all things evolved and they leave God out of the picture. We are reaping the fruits of this foolishness in our society today – children killing children, alcohol abused, drug abuse, dysfunctional families and on and on we could go. A prime example of the foolish thinking today is found in the recent shootings in schools, work places and universities. When a person uses a bomb to kill others they blame the bomber; when a drunken driver kills another in a car accident they blame the driver; however, if someone shoots other people they blame the gun. Truly their foolish hearts are darkened.