From Pastor Ben 11/1/23
Trivia:
Well how did you finish the lyric: “Is this the real life? / Is this just ___?” Fantasy, Agony, Gravity, or Insanity? If you finished it with the word Fantasy you were absolutely right. The Song is from Bohemian Rhapsody” and appears on Queen's 1975 studio album “A Night at the Opera.” Way to go everyone! I thought this might trip you up but NO, you were too intelligent.
Challenge:
Ecclesiastes 7:11:
"Wisdom is even better when you have money. Both are a benefit as you go through life."
This verse can be understood to be emphasizing several things:
1) Wisdom enables the recipient to administer his inheritance carefully and successfully
2) Wisdom is one of the greatest inheritances anyone can be taught and by that given
3) Common sense is as uncommon as is being passed on a source of wealth
In Israel, the most common inheritance that was passed on was land. So it is easy to see why the combination of land and the gained ability to make wise choices in the use of that land was valuable.
Growing up around farming and herd country, I learned very quickly the wise choices of land use. My Uncle Leonard taught me these kernels of wisdom:
The barn, farm house, equipment storage, and corral area were all placed on the land that was most easily secured as well as on the least naturally watered land. That way you didn't have to fight weeds and wild animals, and it was usually most available place from which to transport supplies. That place is usually on the mountain top land where water was first to dry off.
The best farming/cultivating land was the bottom land where the water would filter through the mountain land. As a result, it would be the generally most naturally moist soil. It was also protected from the wind so water was retained most effectively on this sheltered location. In the case of the farming crops, it was also closest to the creek which would naturally wick up the water that was running through the land.
The animal grazing land was best found on the mountainside where shade, fresh natural grass, and shelter from the hot sun was most easily located. for the health of the herd.
When at Bible school in Canada, I worked for a very successful farming co-op of ten farming families. Can you guess what I found was the primary cause for their success? Yep, you got it: The proper placement of crops, etc. on their thousands of tillable acres. My Uncle's wisdom on the proper use of his 300 acres of land was borne out to me by the success of these farmers.
When I came home for the summer, I made it a point to compliment my Uncle on his wisdom that all of these farming families proved his principles to be absolutely wise. I can still remember his response, "Well, Bennie maybe us hicks from the sticks aren't so dumb after all." And then he laughed with gusto as only Uncle Leonard could. Then, on our way home after a hard dry day of bucking hay, he pulled his dusty pickup into the local gas station, and he bought us, my cousin Little Leonard and me, a "pop" as they called it there in Missouri. Then he said to us, as we sat on the lowered pickup tailgate. "Here's to just good old common sense."
Together Dad and Uncle Leonard achieved more success from the farm than ever achieved before. Through my dad's mechanical prowess and Uncle Leonard's savvy from farming and the raising of cattle, these two men proved the great wisdom that God gives us if we will but listen to His instruction.
SO GO WITH GOD, my dear one, for the Spirit that we enjoy in our lives has been freely given to us by God. He will enrich your life with the eternal gifts of wisdom, blessings, and a richness that can only be experienced in His daily presence. By reading His words to us, listening to His voice, discussing in prayer with Him our challenges, these three disciplines will result in us consistently walking in His ways.