HOW TO SPOT A WISE PERSON (PRO 12:15-19)

SERIES: WISDOM FOR THE 21^ST CENTURY, PART 19

GCEFC: AUGUST 29, 2004

INTRODUCTION

1. Advice seeking and advice giving is as old as mankind itself. After the creation account in Genesis 1-2, we only have to go one verse to find a case of advice giving.

2. Genesis 3:1 says: the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. One might suppose that being crafty gave the serpent excellent credentials as a counselor and advice-giver. Eve was more than willing to follow the serpent’s advice.

3. But things haven’t changed much since the beginning of recorded history. There’s probably more advice sought and given now than ever. Maybe it’s because there are so many outlets for advice.

a. There are more advice columns in newspapers than you could possibly read. There is Academic Assets: Advice about managing your money. There is Balancing Act: An advice column on how to find a balance between work and family.

b. There’s Beyond the Ivory Tower: Advice on what you should know about nonacademic careers for Ph.D.’s. There’s Dear Mrs. Web.

c. There’s Ann Landers: The most widely syndicated newspaper columnist in the world for 47 years. Her column appeared in over 1200 U.S. newspapers.

d. There’s Joyce Jillson: On horoscopes. (I’m not recommending this or any of these columns.) Her daily newspaper horoscope appears in 230 U.S. newspapers.

e. There’s Sylvia Rimm on Raising Kids. TeenAdviceOnline.com

f. There’s FreeAdvice.com: If you need free legal advice.

g. You can even get advice on the best way to glue certain objects together on: Thistothat.com. This is not even to mention Dear Abby.

4. I guess one of the occupational hazards with so much advice giving is that there’s so much bad advice out there. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a source of advice you could really trust? That’s stood the test of time? One not out to make money or sell products?

5. Actually there is such a place—and you don’t even need a computer or broad-band internet access. It’s the Bible.

6. For a number of weeks we’ve been looking specifically in the most advice-laden section of the Bible—the Book of Proverbs. Today we’re going to seek the Bible’s wisdom and advice when it comes to spotting a wise person. So—how do you spot a wise person?

7. PRO 12:15-19 gives us 5 ways we can know when we’ve encountered a wise person. A person that’s qualified to give advice themselves.

A. A WISE PERSON LISTENS TO ADVICE

1. The first way you know you’ve encountered a wise person is that they: LISTEN TO ADVICE. V15: The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.

2. A food shuns advice. A fool is not interested in advice. Why is that?

a. First of all, fools don’t think they need it. When you come across someone who is convinced that they are above counsel or advice or suggestions—you know you’ve come across someone who is not wise. The Bible calls them a fool.

b. Second, fools are convinced that their way is the superior way. Of course, if their way was superior, then they would be wise not to take advice. But of course, their way is not always right—it just seems right to them.

c. And their unwillingness to take advice just seals them in the wrong way. It simply ensures that they go the way that seems right to them. But that way is wrong.

3. But the fool’s approach to life is contrasted with the wise person’s approach. The wise person listens to advice. And why is that?

a. First of all, the wise person realizes that he doesn’t know everything. His judgment is not always right on. There are things he needs to be taught. There are things he doesn’t understand as well as he might wish.

b. But isn’t that a bit contradictory? Aren’t we talking about the wise person? Can’t we assume that wise people DO KNOW? What we can assume is that a wise person knows enough to know when he doesn’t know.

c. Wisdom is often an attitude more than it is knowledge. An old Arabic proverb says:

· He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool—avoid him.

· He who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep—wake him.

· He who knows not and knows that he knows not is ignorant—teach him.

· He who knows and knows that he knows is wise—follow him.

d. This first quality of a wise person is that they’re open to being taught. They’re not prideful about what they know or think they know. They’re willing to listen to advice when it’s offered.

e. But notice it says the wise man listens to advice. It doesn’t say that the wise man must heed the advice. The advice needs to be heeded only if it’s wise advice.

B. A WISE PERSON OVERLOOKS INSULTS

1. The second quality of a wise person is in V16: A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

2. Fools are quickly and easily annoyed. It takes very little to get them upset and angry. Especially if they feel they’ve been insulted or put down in some way.

3. It’s been said you can judge the character of a person by what makes him angry. Are they angered more by the violation of principles—or do they get most upset when they sense a personal attack? When their status has been questioned. Or their opinion disregarded.

4. When this happens to a fool—V16 says they are annoyed at once. They don’t take time to process it. To think it through. To evaluate it in the larger scheme. They just REACT.

5. And how do we know how they feel about it? We know because they SHOW THEIR ANNOYANCE. And herein lies the key to the wise response.

6. Not showing one’s annoyance is not the same as ignoring the remark. It’s not the same as suppressing how you really feel about it.

7. The wise person simply doesn’t show his annoyance at once. What does this mean? It means that the annoyance is not controlling them—but rather they are controlling it.

a. PRO 16:32 says the same thing in a different way: Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.

b. I know I will get a lot of ribbing for this, but probably my favorite television program in the early 70’s was Kung Fu. Now before you laugh—erase all images of Jackie Chan and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

c. There’s little similarity. The reason I bring it up is because the lead character, Kwai Chang Caine was this quiet, mild-mannered Chinese immigrant in the American west.

d. To the unaware, he looked like a weak, ignorant, helpless wanderer who couldn’t even speak good English. But behind the calm face was a man of keen wisdom and insight to human behavior.

e. And he had this power that could be used at a moment’s notice. He could disarm a man in a fraction of a second, and take complete control of a situation. His response was not impulsive—but carefully calculated in view of the circumstances.

f. He actually possessed the quality of meekness. Meekness is power under control. It’s what Jesus had when he was being cruelly and unfairly treated by his enemies. He seemed helpless. But he was anything but.

g. That’s why he said to Peter when he drew a sword to defend him: Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? That would be between 36,000 and 72,000 angels—any one of which is many times stronger than any mortal man.

8. A meek person does not display a lot of sound and fury in the face of turmoil. Certainly not in the face of a minor personal insult.

9. A fool shows his annoyance immediately. But a prudent person—a wise person—can overlook an insult. They know there are more important things to devote their energy to.

C. A WISE PERSON CAN BE COUNTED ON FOR HONESTY

1. A third way we can spot a wise person is in V17. A wise person can be counted on for honest testimony: A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies.

2. Nothing quite compares to a person who can be completely trusted. Whose word is completely reliable. Who can be counted on to tell the truth—even at personal cost.

3. The immediate context here is a trial. When a truthful witness takes the stand, he can be counted on for honest testimony. You can’t disregard a truthful witness.

4. The attorney may try to minimize the significance of the testimony. Or he may attempt to distort the words of the witness. Even the opposition knows the power of spoken truth.

5. But a false witness tells lies. In a weird sort of way, a false witness can be completely relied upon to tell lies. That’s why attorneys are so concerned about the character and reputation of witnesses. They know that testimony given by one who is regarded as unreliable or dishonest can lose a case.

6. Remember the detective for the prosecution in the O.J. Simpson trial—Mark Fuhrman? Once it was demonstrated that he had lied and that he was a man of questionable character—it severely hurt the prosecution’s case.

7. Consider PRO 16:13: Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value a man who speaks the truth. Even bad kings. Evil kings. Even lying kings value a man who speaks the truth.

8. Wise people can be counted on to speak the truth. Fools can be counted on to lie.

D. WISE PEOPLE RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF THOUGHTFUL WORDS

1. The fourth way you can recognize a wise person is in V18: Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. A fool doesn’t recognize the destructive power of reckless words. Or else he doesn’t care. That’s why he speaks them.

2. But reckless words can do great harm. They are compared to the damage that a sword can do. No one would question the destructive power of a piercing sword. But we might miss the potential damage that piercing words can do.

3. Remember one of the first childhood rhymes you learned to help you fend off verbal attacks? Sticks and stones can bring my bones but words can never hurt me.

4. It’s a clever little rhyme. The problem is that it’s not true. A better version of the rhyme would be: Sticks and stones can bring my bones—but words can break my heart!

5. Words can in fact do things that sticks and stones are incapable of doing. The destruction and damage from words can even exceed physical injury.

6. And what are reckless words exactly? Reckless words are words that we speak without proper thought and consideration. Fools don’t realize how harmful reckless words can be. So they speak without thinking—and their words end up piercing the hearer like a sword.

7. But wise people recognize not only that reckless and thoughtless words bring harm and pain—they realize that the opposite of reckless words bring healing. The opposite of reckless words being…

a. Thought-out words.

b. Words we think through before we speak.

8. EPH 4:29 may be the only thing you need to remember on this point. Here it is: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

9. All the words I speak certainly do not pass this test. I suspect that all of yours don’t either. Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

E. TRUTH ENDURES WHILE LIES DO NOT

1. The fifth and last way you can spot a wise person is this: A wise person understands that lies are only temporary, while truth is permanent. V19: Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

2. Now I have to confess that this verse caused me some problems for a while. It didn’t ring true to me. I could think of many situations where lies seemed to prevail.

3. I could think of situations in which lies seemed to be remembered long into the future. When Richard Nixon was in a question/answer session with 400 Associated Press managing editors, he said: People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.

4. Nixon didn’t say he wasn’t a liar—he said he wasn’t a crook. Of course, he lied when he said he wasn’t a crook. Which made him a liar and a crook.

5. But the lie lives on. I remember it after 30 years! So how does it last “only a moment”?

6. Well the problem is that I had misunderstood what the verse was saying. It’s saying that truth endures while lies won’t stand the test of time. In other words, lies will usually be exposed as lies. But truth endures as truth.

7. Lies may not be exposed today or tomorrow or even next year. But a lie has a limited life expectancy. Many more times than not—a lie is revealed to be a lie. But truth lives on.

CONCLUSION

1. So how do you spot a wise person?

2. Five ways:

a. Wise people listen to advice. They know they don’t know it all, so they’re open to counsel and advice.

b. Wise people overlook personal insults. They don’t get worked up over something that is not all that important. If it is important—they’ll deal with it non-impulsively.

c. Wise people can be counted on to speak the truth.

d. Wise people know that destructive power of reckless words—so they think before they speak.

e. Wise people understand that a lie’s days are numbered—while truth lives on.

3. Whether you’re seeking a wise person for sound advice. Or you want to be a wise person so you can offer sound advice—these 5 ways will help you know for sure.