Albert Einstein once said: “A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it”.
Just think about this very wise man’s application of his own wisdom; he completely avoided ever having the problem of a bad hair day by always having bad hair. The man was a genius.
He was right about the need for us to try and avoid problems at all cost. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that it is far easier to avoid problems than deal with their aftermath. Once when I was still a teenager I heard two guys arguing among themselves about a college football game in a bar. I didn’t know either one of them and could have cared less about the teams, but felt compelled to offer my unsolicited opinion in a loud offensive (drunken) manner. The next thing I knew they both told me to butt out which made me mad and I hit one of them in the mouth only to have the other one sucker punch me and break my nose. It hurt for weeks. Proverbs 26:17 states: “Interfering in someone else’s argument is as foolish as yanking a dog’s ears”.
Why I yanked their ears is beyond me. I should have avoided the situation and enjoyed a straighter nose.
I used to think evangelist Billy Graham was being a little over the top by never getting into an elevator alone with a woman other than his wife. He also would never enter a motel room unless someone from his staff first checked to make sure that the room was empty and devoid of any females. Billy was “Einstein-wise” enough to avoid problems with lust temptation or groupie women.
Television evangelist Jimmy Swaggart however must not have spent much time studying about Einstein or reading Proverbs, because he ended up chasing prostitutes all over L.A. and elsewhere and the press nailed him for it and brought him down like a goose in a hailstorm. He should have read Proverbs 5:15 “Drink water from your own well – share your love only with your wife”.
I have always loved to read Proverbs and Ecclesiastes because they provide a wealth of practical advice that is still as poignant today as it was when it was written by King Solomon in ancient times. I would advise you to read it and by so doing sit at his knee and listen to the wisest and richest man the world will ever know tell you how to solve your problems.
With that said I cannot say that it should always be recommended reading under every circumstance. The other day my wife balked at following my instructions and I immediately admonished her and told her that she should not only follow my instructions, she should LOVE them, because she was assured of gaining “tremendous” knowledge as a result. I insisted that the Bible backed me up 100% on it and I told her to check out Proverbs 12:1 and see for herself.
She was not amused to read: “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge. But he who hates correction is stupid”.
Hmmm . . . I have gone back to Proverbs and discovered:
Proverbs 21:9
It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.
July 16, 2015 – Click here to listen