“There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise” (Proverbs 30:24).
TEXT — Proverbs 30:21-33
Message
There is a famous African folktale about an animal that claimed to have mopped up all the wisdom in the world into a pouch and attempted to hide it on a palm tree where no one else could reach it. Unfortunately, it placed the pouch on its chest and repeatedly failed to climb the tree until an onlooker advised it to put the pouch on its back. It dawned on the crafty animal that, indeed, it had been unable to capture all the wisdom in the world and, therefore, abandoned its mission.
There are lessons to learn from our passage in the light of this fable. First, wisdom is paramount in human affairs and applicable to specific situations. It also enables the weak to turn their disability into strength. It is described as “the principal thing”, which (coupled with understanding) should be sought by everyone. The little animals mentioned in our passage illustrate the application of wisdom to the challenges of life: the ants make adequate provision for the winter of scarcity; conies are weak but build safe houses that are inaccessible to predators; locusts, without a single leader, demonstrate strength in collective action, by organising themselves in incredible, irresistible swarms, and the powerless spider sneaks into highly secured places where strong human beings find difficult to enter.
Second, different forms of wisdom apply to different situations in life, as shown by the different animals in the Bible passage. Third, no single person has a monopoly of wisdom, and true wisdom is from God. We must seek it from Him with unwavering faith. Finally, wisdom is most profitable if correctly applied to pleasing God. Sinners should be wise unto salvation by repenting and trusting the Lord for mercy and forgiveness.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
Good 👍