Wisdom and Discernment

                                                             SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
                                                                week of September 25,2011
                                                                      Proverbs 25:1-10
Lesson Focus:
A humble attitude is good in all circumstances


Introduction:

Seek wise counsel,God knows the hidden things in the very depths and hearts of all men.He sees the motives behind all that we say,think and do, you cannot fool God. But man is limited,he does not know all things and definitely cannot see all areas inside a person's heart and mind.It's wise to confer with mature,godly people when situation arises,and pray and help one another.God allows leaders to get rid of wicked people in top positions.Believers need to surround themselves with others who love and respect God.Wicked people standing against God,can cause unrest and persuade others to join in their unbelief.We must be careful not to jump to conclusions about people and situations,there is always more to the story.In every situation you choose to be the one like Christ and bring peace to the matter.

Remove Evil Influences
Proverbs 25:1-5,KJV

  ¹These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
   ²It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
   ³The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.
   ⁴Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.
   ⁵Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.

footnotes:

Here we have the process of purifying silver to that of a King removing evil influences from before him.When refining silver ,the impurities are skimmed off of the top providing the silversmith with a purer metal with which he can make a fine product.In the same way we must remove the wicked and evil things from our lives that may cause us to stumble and be lead astray.We should never seek godly advise from the ungodly, much like you wouldn't seek marriage advice from a single person or ask one with no children how to raise your children.

Be Humble

Proverbs 25:6-7,KJV

  ⁶Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men:

   ⁷For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

footnote:

Here we have a setting in the Kings court with the guest arriving and are eager to sit near the King. The problem with this prideful approach is the risk of embarrasment should the King want some one else to sit close to him.No matter what setting you apply this to, the lesson is to avoid the danger of thinking to highly of ourselves,but to remain humble in regards to others.Jesus said "for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,and he who humbles himself will be exalted".In reguards to our salvation,if we think that our own works and righteousness will save us ,we will face humilation of the worst sort imaginable,as he says "depart from me ,I never knew you.But when we humbly come before Him,seeking forgiveness, confessing our sins and unworthiness of His salvation,we will find the open door to eternal life.

Keep the Confidence of Others

Proverbs 25:8-10 KJV

  ⁸Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.

   ⁹Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another:
   ¹⁰Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.

footnotes:

Solomon argues againstbeing to hasty in taking a matter against your neighbor to court.The problem with such hasty action is that we might be mistaklen or have misinterpreted what we saw.There may be innocent explanation for what might have looked harmful from a distance.When arguing our case with our neighbor,we must be careful not to betray the confidence of another person.We must not take that which we were told in confidence and use it to make a point about something else. This can ruin  a relationship and even a marriage.Remember our spoken word is like feathers in the wind,once released,they can never be truly taken back.So be mindful of what you say,think and pray before you act.