“An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”
Proverbs 18:15
I have been serving as a Certified Biblical Counselor for about 3 years now. God has allowed me the opportunity to serve Him through this ministry, and I have grown tremendously. I have said and will say again that even if my counselees do not change, I know that God has brought about change in my heart and life.
One of the things that I try to find out from counselees is what they are reading or listening to. Today, we don’t just listen to music we also listen to podcasts. We don’t just read books, we also listen to books. One of the greatest discoveries for me this year has been listening to books. The library has a wealth of books to listen to or to read the printed word on the page. These books can be checked out as physical books or as electronic books on an electronic device. There really is no reason why we do not read except that we do not prioritize it.
The reason I want to know what people are reading or listening to is because I want to know what is influencing them. What is influencing their thinking? What is impacting their actions or their words? We have all heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out.” If we are not putting godly things into our brains, then we will not have godly thoughts, words, or actions come out. Every book that I read is not a “spiritual” book. I try to be careful that what I read or listen to would not go against the principles of God’s Word.
I just finished reading “A Shepherd’s Look at Psalms 23” by W. Phillip Keller and am currently listening to “Educated” by Tara Westover. The purpose of this post is not to give you a book report. What I want us to understand is that what we allow to enter our minds impacts our thoughts, words, and actions.
Our verse tells us that the wise acquire and seek knowledge. Why do they acquire and seek knowledge? So that they know better how to live. Wisdom comes from living out the correct knowledge and the Biblical principles that we know. It is one thing to have a wealth of knowledge, but quite another to live that knowledge out. It does no one any good to have a lot of book knowledge if they do not then translate that book knowledge into wise practice.
In “A Shepherd’s Look at Psalm 23” we get a glimpse into Psalm 23 from the perspective of a shepherd. The author better understands the Psalm because he is a shepherd. He understands how to care for sheep because he has the factual knowledge and the experiential knowledge.
We gain knowledge and understanding by being inquisitive and by being humble enough to search the Scriptures for the answer, spending time in prayer to seek the Lord for His direction, and by asking others to help us understand what we don’t know.
When we ask questions, do we desire to learn or do we desire to show off how smart we are? The truly wise person seeks to understand from a point of humility not from a point of being a know-it-all.
It has been an exciting year for me this year as I have had the world opened up to me by the power of listening to books. What is it that you are seeking to acquire in the 24 hours each day that God has given you? Are you seeking to acquire knowledge to puff you up or to help you better serve our Lord by understanding the world around you?
