Time With God ===> A service of Gospel Communications.

This month of April Fools Day is a good time to reflect on whether we
are being foolish or wise and disciplined.

Youth is when most of us exhibit some foolish behavior and tend to
despise discipline. Foolishness among inexperienced young people is to be
expected. But sooner or later we have to decide to put aside foolish
things and discipline ourselves to seek wisdom and knowledge.

I remember being rather undisciplined when I started high school. I
spent a lot of time goofing off. I was the kind of person who had to apply
himself to get good grades and I didn’t apply! I just did the minimum
for a passing grade. In fact, my Latin teacher told me she would pass me
with a grade of D if I promised never to take the class again.

My father refused to pay tuition for me to go to Christian High the
next year, saying I could goof off in a public school where he didn’t have
to pay. I was miserable at the public school, and for the first time,
awoke to the fact that I had lost a lot by ‘just goofing off’. I was so
miserable that I went to my Dad and said, “I’m going back to Christian
High, and I’ll earn my own tuition!” So back I went. I became a more
serious student and began to pull down much better grades. And, seeing I
meant what I’d said, my Dad decided to pay my tuition once again.

Foolishness has serious consequences. My high school experience was a
lesson in the positive consequences of discipline and the rewards of
seeking knowledge. I also learned that true wisdom is the result of
deliberate choices we make. Many people foolishly make the same mistakes. If
we want to become wise, we must make a conscious, deliberate decision
to learn from our mistakes and never repeat them. We also must learn
from our successes and the successes of others. Wisdom must be won by hard
effort.

And, most importantly, if we want to be wise, we must go to the source
of all wisdom: God himself. You can draw wisdom directly from God
through Bible study and prayer. Desire wisdom, seek wisdom, and pursue
wisdom, and go to God in prayer, asking for the wisdom to live an effective,
successful, godly life.