W.H.O.

Proverbs 8:32-36

32 "And now, O sons, listen to me:
blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Hear instruction and be wise,
and do not neglect it.

34 Blessed is the one who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting beside my doors.
35 For whoever finds me finds life
and obtains favor from the LORD,
36 but he who fails to find me injures himself;
all who hate me love death."

Note how easy Wisdom is to obtain. It is simply a matter of hearing her instruction and then following through on it. There is no mountain to climb; one must simply sit by her door waiting for her to step out. She is not hidden. Finding her is merely an act of waiting patiently for her. So the simple steps are Wait, Hear, Obey. And yet these steps are apparently difficult for us. Consider them.

Wait: But we don't have time! There is much to do and deadlines to meet. We are growing older and the time seems to be going faster.

Hear: How do we hear when there is so much noise we are also listening to? If in the car, we have the radio on; if walking we have our iPods on; if at home the TV is home. Perhaps we can slip in a few minutes of Bible reading, but there is too much to do in a day!

Obey: We will obey when we can afford the luxury to obey. Meanwhile, we have pressing demands; we have many troubles. When we get our lives in order, then we can think about obeying.

It always comes back to the heart. We will make time to W.H.O. (Wait, Hear, Obey) for what matters to us. And God will be not be as sympathetic to our supposed motives as we are. Those who will not W.H.O. will be regarded as those who hate Wisdom and love death. For that is their destiny.