PROVERBS LESSON 8
WISDOM
By PAULINE SMITH 

Mr. Johnson came in from work one day and looked dejected. His wife commented, "You look like you'd lost your best friend. Did you have trouble at the plant?"

Mr. Johnson replied, "No, we had a good day at work but I met Jerry Monroe coming out of the office. I've known him since he was a child but he is having a hard time. I wish I could help him but I don't know how. I'm going over and see Joe Benton. I know he just retired as a counselor at the high school but he might be able to help me advise Jerry.

Mr. Johnson called Joe and asked if he could come over and get help with a problem Joe said he'd be glad to have him so Mr. Johnson decided to run over and talk before supper. In a short time Mr. Johnson arrived at Joe's home. Joe came out and greeted him, " Get out and come in, Jack,. I am really glad to see you. What kind of problem do you have?"

"Actually, it is someone else's problem," Jack Johnson replied, "I met Jerry Monroe at the plant and stopped and talked to him for a while. You remember him don't you? "

"I surely do", answered Joe, "he is the one I tried to get to go to college. His father had died a year before but his mother had a job and could support herself and his younger brother. Jerry could draw some from social security and he had a band scholarship so he could easily go on to college. But he was anxious to get a job and buy a car. He said he just thought he could go to work and could soon be making money instead of taking time to go to school. I tried to show him figures and tell him he needed an education but he wouldn't listen. He said he was big and stout and a company who operated a business of moving people would give him a job that paid well and he could get overtime so he'd make good money. In spite of all I said, he took the job the day after he graduated."

Mr. Johnson told him that Jerry realized now that he should have listened to Mr. Benton. He had taken the job and was doing well. He bought a new car and a year or so later married Joan Green who worked at Walmart. With both working and renting a one bedroom apartment they were doing fine. But later they had a son born and Joan quit her job. They planned to get a larger apartment and let Joan stay at home for a while. But then the moving company sold out to a larger company. Jerry could have transferred to another state but they knew expenses would be more there and neither one of the couple wanted to move. Joan got her job back at Walmart and Jerry was hunting a job. Actually the moving company company paid little over the minimum wage but by. working many overtime hours, .Jerry had made a fair wage. Now he had looked everywhere but all the jobs required skills which he did not have. Jerry had liked accounting in high school and had some computer skills but neither were enough to get a job. He said he could get a job at a filling station for minimum wage but he wanted to make a better living for his family.

Mr. Benton said that he thought the best thing for Jerry to do would be to take a minimum wage job and take classes at night at the community college to gain accounting skills for a job with a future, Mr. Johnson agreed with him and promised to see Jerry the next day and tell him what they thought best for him to do. He said he would also advise him to stay in the small apartment till he could get a better job. By doing that he could pay for the added expense of college work. Joan would probably need to continue working till Jerry could learn enough to get a better job.

When Mr. Johnson got home, his wife and Mark were just sitting down to supper and he joined them. He related the story of Jerry's misfortune and how much better it would have been to listen to Mr. Benton. Mark had listened to the Proverbs of Solomon till he felt they had lessons for everything in life. He asked his mother if Solomon gave any advice about education. she said that he surely did. If he would help her get the dishes in the dishwasher she would read some passages that contained this advice.

Mother said that she was going to read from the Living Bible which paraphrases the Bible but makes Proverbs easier to understand. First she would read why Solomon wrote Proverbs which is told in Proverbs 1:2-9, " He wrote them to teach his people how to live--how to act in every circumstance, for he wanted them to be understanding, just and fair in everything they did. ' I want to make the simple-minded wise!' he said , 'I want to warn young men about some problems they will face. I want those already wise to become wiser and become leaders by exploring the depths of meaning in those nuggets of truth. How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord. Only fools refuse to be taught. Listen to your father and mother. What you learn from them will stand you in good stead.; it will gain you many honors,"

Then Mother said she would read from Proverbs 4:1-13, "Young men, listen to me as you would to your father. Listen, and grow wise, for I speak the truth--don't turn away. For I too was once a son, tenderly loved by my mother as an only child and the companion of my father. He told me never to forget his words. 'If you follow them' he said 'you will have a long and happy life. Learn to be wise' he said 'and develop good judgment and common sense! I cannot overemphasize this point'. Cling to wisdom--she will protect you. Love her--she will protect you, Love her--she will guard you. Determination to be wise is the first step toward becoming wise! And with your wisdom, develop common sense and good judgment. If you exalt wisdom, she will exalt you. Hold her fast and she will lead you to great honor; she will place a beautiful crown on your head, My son, listen to me and do as I say, you will have a long good life,"

Mother told Mark that not only should he learn as much as he could but should try to use good judgment in his life. He should not only learn things but understand them and know how to use them, She said she hoped he would finish high school and go on to college or get training for some vocation so he would have skills to make a living.

Mark asked his mother, "Is it education when you go to a vocational college where you learn a trade?" His mother answered that it certainly was learning and the knowledge of a trade was valuable to people. She said it was another kind of education. Mark said he planned to go to college but one of his friends had a hard time with studies in school but liked to make things. He was thinking of making a carpenter and maybe learning how to be a building contractor like his uncle. Mother said she thought that would be a wise decision. He would be using good judgment she said. Then Mark said he needed to get his homework done and now he knew how important it was to learn as much as he could when he was young.

1. It is best to get an education when you are______________ ( young, a few years older)

2. The first step in becoming wise is to trust and reverence the ___________.

3.Only ____________ refuse to be taught.

4. You should listen to your ____________ and ________________.

5. Solomon tells us to _____________ wisdom.

6, Proverbs tells us to have a determination to be_____________.

7. Solomon tells us with gaining wisdom to develop _______ _________ and good __________.

8. Solomon wrote Proverbs to teach his people how to ___________ and how to ____________

9. He wanted to make the simple-minded ____________.

10. Solomon wanted people to be understanding _________ and ______________ in everything they did.