Ahoy Maties!

"Be careful where you store your pearls; for where your treasure is, your heart will be there also."


Yesterday, I watched The View, and as always, I was left flabbergasted.  My daughter watches the show faithfully, so when she's home, I end up watching it with her.  Sometimes I'm so perplexed at the "wisdom"(or the lack thereof) of one of the hostesses of the show.  I wonder why she is the way she is, and whether or not she knows she is the way she is!  Every time I sit through one of her tirades, I find myself thinking: Wisdom is not for fools because fools don't care about wisdom; they just want to be heard.  Now, I'm not using this blog as a format to name call or to put the young woman down, but I always leave the show with her on my mind.  Though she prides herself on taking a stand and never backing down, wisdom always seems to escape her.  Maybe wisdom just avoids her.  I often wonder why she never seems to get better, but the answer is simple:

Wisdom is a treasure that comes in pearls, and in order to be wise, you've got to store them up somewhere.  If you never store them, others will come up empty when you have to stand on what you believe.  Because they are intangible, you can't store these pearls on a shelf or carry them around in your pocket.  They can only be stored in a spiritual place--the mind and/or the heart.  If they are stored only in the mind, they can be stolen by anyone more clever than you.  If stored in the heart, they will be imbedded so deeply that no one will be able to take them away from you.  To store in the mind is to ponder or think on something you heard; to store it in the heart is to accept what you heard as absolute truth.  Be very careful what you store in your heart because once it's in there, EVERYTHING you do will be shaped by it, and it will take an act of God to change you.

So what if you're storing stuff in your heart that's not wisdom?  Unfortunately, that means you're acting foolishly.  Wisdom is not for fools and fools are not for wisdom.  If you speak wisdom to a fool, he will mock you.  If you're mocking one who speaks wisely, you're a fool.  If wisdom is stored in your heart, you will not mock the wise because you will be able to understand the wisdom in what is being said.  Without wisdom, everything other than what YOU say will sound foolish to you (and I'd really hate to be your child, mate or friend!).

So how do you tell wisdom from foolishness? Pay attention to what's being said.  Then pay attention to who is saying it.  Good advice doesn't come from age, a position or a title; it comes through the mind/heart of a person.  Before you believe what is being said, take a look at the character of the person speaking.  Many fools think they are wise, and you will, too, if you don't have wisdom stored up in your heart.  Take what you hear and measure it up to what you know to be right.  If that doesn't help, take it to someone who you KNOW to be wise.  If you don't know anyone wise, PRAY cuz you're in trouble!!!  No, seriously, if you are truly looking for wisdom, you will find it.  Wisdom is looking for people.  Wisdom wants to live in someone's heart.  What stops us from being wise is when we put what we want above what we know is needed.  If your baby needs diapers, don't buy that blouse you want.  If you want that man and you know he's no good, leave him alone cuz he's not what you need.  Nobody needs a jerk to come into their lives to mess it up; it doesn't matter how cute he is.  If you want that drink or that smoke, and you know the light bill needs to be paid...well...you know.  LEAVE IT ALONE.  You don't need that drink anyway--even though you think you do.

The problem here, however, comes in how you define what you need.  Well, that takes us right back to wisdom.  Be careful who you call wise because that's who you're going to get your wisdom from.  They will define what you need, especially if you're vulnerable--usually when you're vulnerable.  If you see them as wise, you will treasure what they say and accept it as truth.  Then you will store it in your heart, and whatever you store in your heart will define who you are as a person.  You are whatever is in your heart. Everything you do begins and ends there.  If you're a good person, it's because your heart is pure and there's goodness there; if you're stanky janky, it's because your heart is rotten and there's nothing good about you.  There are no exceptions to this rule!  We all know people who we love to hang out with, who constantly do things we know aren't right, but they keep us from being alone.  Yes, we like them and call them "friend", but we know how they are.  We know that if the tree is really good, it cannot bear bad fruit.  It's up to us to stay or to walk away, but we want the "friendship"with them, knowing we don't need them in our lives.  They are the bad influence that keeps us from growing.  Remember this:  that person's every conversation is shaping and molding the way you think.  Even if you feel like it's not effecting you.  You WILL take on their stuff.  It doesn't matter how strong you think you are.  If I hung out with the young lady on The View, eventually I'd start to think like her because I'd have to take on some of her views in order to stay in the friendship with her.  AAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!!! That's a scary thought.  Sorry Lizzy, no can do!

Your wisdom is what you accept as truth.  If it is not solid, it will be stored in the mind and be as a treasure chest waiting for pirates to come and steal.  If stored in the heart, it will be like a buried treasure that even the slickest of pirates won't be able to find.  But if the wisdom is real, it will be stored in your heart and mind together, and form a bond that will transcend throughout the generations.  It will be so deep that only God Himself would be able to uproot and destroy it (think of family traditions).  So again, be careful what you believe.  Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be there also.  As you build up your treasure chest of wisdom pearls, remember that some will be for you, others will be for those around you.  You will pass them on to your children, who will pass them on to their children.  Build wisely.  Otherwise you'll be the head of a family of dum...well...you know...not-so-smart people.