Tiny Devotional for Saturday, 10-23-2021

A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, thaw your frozen breakfast before you eat it.

Apply your heart to discipline,
And your ears to words of knowledge.

Proverbs 23:12, NASB

Writers of the Bible were perfectly capable of putting sequential commands in the right sequence:

“First, do this, THEN do that.” 

I don’t want to beat this idea to death, but you’ll find LOTS of references to setting priorities in words like “before, first, after, then,” and so on.  

I bring this up, because this verse does NOT mandate, or even imply, a sequence. The linking word between the two actions is “and.” I suggest that’s because we are to take both actions at the same time.

Applying our hearts to discipline absolutely requires doing something. The heart provides the MOTIVATION to act; the discipline describes the nature of the act. In writing this blog post, I am applying my heart to discipline.

AND, while we are DOING, we are to LEARN as well. From the context, I think the words of knowledge are to apply to our discipline. Else, why mention them together? So I paraphrase this verse as:

Do your job, while learning to do it better.

That means change is inevitable, as we adapt our doing, based on our learning.

Some minimal learning is required before doing, although my internal Redneck Biker doesn’t like that. 

“Instructions? I don’t need no stinking instructions!”

Shut up, boy! You DO need instructions, the Bible says so! But you DON’T have to learn forever before you get to do something. We’re going to get you into action as soon as possible.

You, and all the rest of us.

Peace be on your household.

Comments

  1. I remember someone saying that motivation is easy. You can pump yourself up but will deflate after a while. Dedication is the difficult one, the day in day out grind. Keep up the good work. Stay dedicated.

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  2. I appreciate that your internal Redneck Biker finds the discipline to write these devotionals Pat! They are always really good and I learn from them.... thanks!

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  3. AHHHHH how many times have we found ourselves or others being slammed into a self-imposed brick wall because we've learned the things we want to learn, and then when those things change, we are not willing to learn MORE things about the things we ALREADY KNOW, and then we end up stagnant and unhappy??!! I bought a new computer recently, and it doesn't work like the computers I'm used to did..... You know, from 10, 15, 20 years ago....... And so instead of buckling down and learning something new and then being successful in something, anything, I look at that beautiful blurple laptop and think "dang it, I don't know how to use you, so you just sit right there until I have time to figure it out." As a smart person, I see the folly here. As a silly person, I've let it continue as such. And now, as a humble person, I have decided that tomorrow I will make a concerted effort to sit down and figure the blasted thing out, and I shall need discipline to do it, and will gain new knowledge because of it.

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