Is There Wi-Fi?
A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash.
Proverbs 15:14
LISTEN ONLINE
As I was preparing to go on a mission trip with some young people, the most frequently asked question was, “Is there Wi-Fi?” And I assured them there would be. So just imagine the wails and groans one night when the Wi-Fi was down!
Many of us become anxious when we’re separated from our smartphones. And when we do have our iPhones or Androids in our hands, we can be fixated on our screens.
Like many things, the internet and all that it allows us to access can become either a distraction or a blessing. It depends on what we do with it. In Proverbs we read, “A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash” (15:14 nlt).
Applying the wisdom of God’s Word to life, we can ask ourselves: Do we check our social networks compulsively throughout the day? What does that say about the things we hunger for? And do the things we read or view online encourage sensible living (vv. 16-21), or are we feeding on trash—gossip, slander, materialism, or sexual impurity?
As we yield to the work of the Holy Spirit, we can fill our minds with things that are “true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable” (Philippians 4:8 nlt). By God’s wisdom we can make good choices that honor Him.
By Poh Fang Chia
REFLECT & PRAY
What we let into our minds shapes the state of our souls.
God, help me to use my time well and to fill my mind with what is pure.
Read Being Jesus Online at discoveryseries.org/q0737.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Much of the book of Proverbs is comprised of pithy observations on how to live life well. For example, we learn about how to handle our anger, how to respond to others with respect, what to do about enemies, and the wisdom of controlling our tongues.
Most of these sayings are written in pairs called couplets. There are three kinds of couplets in Hebrew poetry: synonymous—both lines say essentially the same thing, but the second line restates the first with a different image (see Proverbs 15:10); synthetic—the second line adds to the first, enhancing it and specifying the concept (see Proverbs 15:11); and antithetical—the second line contrasts with the first (see Proverbs 15:1).
The next time you read Proverbs, pay close attention to how the two lines of a proverb go together. They are meant to express one idea. J.R. Hudberg
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