Proverbs 10:14 - Experienced help wanted

Proverbs 10:14

Wise men store up knowledge,

But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand

Message: Experienced help wanted

Time: Proverbs records multiple individuals as its author with Solomon as the principal author. Solomon died in 931 BC though most think the book was likely in its final form sometime before the end of Hezekiah’s reign in 686 BC. It is a book that instructs people on the path of wisdom. It speaks to all of life and living our lives under the authority and direction of God. 

What the Lord is Saying: For the wise man, knowledge is stored up and retrieved for later use. Scripture memory is an example of this. We memorize scripture so that we can access it at times and repeat it to remind us of the promises of God. It can encourage myself and others as well. As I hire people, the thing we are looking for in people is experience and people that have knowledge that they have retained after working on different vehicles over a period of time. But this applies to many different disciplines. We pay a premium of people who can think at a high level and possess this type of knowledge. This is knowledge retained and helps a person to be wise. Knowledge is a treasure. This is what we look for in teachers, in any profession. People have this knowledge train others that do not have the knowledge. 

One of the problems I have right now with one of my employees is this person sits in their office and rarely gets out of the office to see what is going on outside of her world. She expects people to come to her. She is guarded over what she is willing to do. She restricts all that she wants to do. She is gaining knowledge my guess in some areas of her life - dieting, nutrition, exercise, raising kids -- but her work as our employee is quite limited. She does not apply herself well. And in the process she has little experience and knowledge in how to do things. Yet, she collects a large paycheck. The system protects her. I am in the process of providing her a letter of expectations in hopes that it will spur on to greater efforts. 

The contrasting idea in this verse is the "mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand." This is the person that does not gain through experience. The King James Version says it is near destruction. It is like a house getting ready to fall. This is a person that often doesn't think before speaking and simply let spews of their mouth whatever they are feeling at the time. People say things an then express some sort of apology following for what they said, hoping that the apology makes null and void what was said. People act impulsively and then regret for it often brings destruction on themselves as well as those near. 

Prayer: O God, you are rich in mercy and your ways are great. Help me to remember always the importance of being consistent in my life to continue to be motivated, diligent in all of my activities in life - to gain experience wherever I go and be a help to those in need. Guard my tongue from quick words and saying things improperly. Guard my heart. 

 

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