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(Matthew 18:19,20)
Section 1 - Lesson 10
A Hebraic Perspective
Elders, Our Father’s Representatives
The Importance of Older Women
Growing Wise And Remaining Teachable
A Hebraic Perspective:
Elders, Our Father’s Representatives
“They will still bear fruit in old
age,
they will stay fresh and green” (Psalm 92:14).
The Hebrew Bible proclaims the value of
wisdom that’s gained through years of experience: “Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does
not long life bring understanding?”(Job 12:12). The Bible emphasizes the spiritual,
psychological and mental maturity of those who are older and
have walked in obedient trust.
The Hebrew community of Bible times
certainly didn’t hold to today’s estimation that
the elderly outlive their usefulness. One thing the wise
recognize: Those who don’t
remember the past are condemned to repeat it. How important for the young in particular to seek
the wisdom and perspective of the older and wiser. Otherwise,
the pits of sin that trapped the previous generations will
cause them to stumble as well.
The “counsel
of the elders” referred to in
Ezekiel 7:26 was prized and eagerly sought after. Elders sat at
the city gates, accessible to all who entered or left the city.
There they made decisions for the welfare of the entire
community. They also “parented” the Hebraic faith
communities.
Even in biblical times divorce shattered
families. God hated the severance of marriage covenants as much
then as He does now (see Deuteronomy 24:1; Malachi 2:16). But
everyone in the community realized that marriages
couldn’t make it on their own. A troubled couple could
turn to older couples for help through problems they
couldn’t resolve. (This is a key feature of the
Hebraic-style home fellowship—a sense of commitment to
the well-being of all the families in their midst. This sense
of interconnected community must be restored if we’re
ever to see a decline in the divorce rate among Christians.)
Were all older men respected and sought after in the
Hebraic society? Not at all! Then, how did a man become a zaken, a true
biblical elder? In his book, The
Masculine Journey, Robert Hicks
presents an insightful and practical Hebraic understanding of
the six stages of male development. The first five stages
prepare a man to be our Father’s representative in caring
for His children, if and when he achieves the final stage,
respected elder.
Manhood is reflected differently throughout
the adult life cycle. “Adult life is not static,”
writes Hicks. “It is a journey [a pilgrimage], and while
on the journey the landscape is constantly changing... We
expect our jobs, our marriages, even our faith to mean the same
things as we get older. When we see changes in ourselves we
think something is seriously wrong, rather than recognizing
this is a normal part of the journey.”1
If you ask about a man’s state of
being, his answer will depend on what stage he’s in. Six
distinct Hebrew words connoting “man” appear in the
Older Testament—specific life intervals through which a
man progresses IF he learns the lessons God intends for each stage.
The first stage, the Creational Male (Hebrew adam), connotes mankind in general,
both male and female. Having been made in the image of God,
humanity is distinct from the rest of creation. We are able to
design, invent and produce that which began as an abstract idea
and brings forth a tangible result. Due to man’s sin
nature, however, our abilities can be used for evil as well as
for noble purposes.
The next stage of male development is the Phallic Male (Hebrew zakar). In this stage a man
responds to the innate sexual drive that impels and motivates him toward an
intimate relationship. Biblical admonitions constrain him,
however, to confine his expression of that sexuality to his
wife.
In fact, a man’s true worship of God
begins by fleeing lust (1 Corinthians 6:18) and saving himself for the
woman he will take in the covenant of marriage. It’s through not giving in to lust that a man begins to learn
true responsibility to God by
denying himself for the sake of obedience to His Lord.
Men in this stage need help! This is where
guidance and accountability to a godly mature man comes in.
Pornogra-phy and lewdness in general are all too available to
arouse desires that lead to sinful actions.
Males have 10 times more testosterone than
women have. In order to stay pure and holy before God so he can
serve His purposes, he must fight off one of the greatest
biological urges in his life. The
degree to which he learns responsibility in this stage affects
his ability to act responsibly in succeeding stages.
When the term gibbor is used in the Hebrew Scriptures, it refers to
the third stage of a man’s life development, the Warrior Male. A man in
this stage seeks to excel and to conquer. He’s known by what he does. In our
culture this would generally represent a man in his twenties
and thirties, and even into his forties. He’s heading for
the top in his occupation, scurrying to acquire the trappings
of material success and recognition.
During this stage a man is often so
consumed with his work that he spends little time interacting
with and enjoying his family. He may be deriving
“attaboys” from work or church leadership for his effort,
but his own wife and children are yearning for intimacy and
connection that he has no time for. He may even grow angry
toward them, thinking they’re ungrateful. He’s
bringing home the bacon from his job and filling in activity
slots in his congregation. Isn’t that enough?
Hellenist-influenced ministry relies
heavily on this stage of development for its recruits.
(Sometimes it even reaches back into the Phallic stage for
youth workers to “identify” with young people and
attract them.) Warrior males within religious systems bring the
same aspirations of worldly success into the congregation: the
“nickels and noses” mentality that impels corporate
America to attain prestige and acclaim.
Warriors are to be found among the majority
of clergy, among men who lead Promise Keepers cells and similar
groups, and among leadership of most parachurch ministries. The
Warrior Stage induces men to scramble for prestige — to
seek to be “top dog.” Directing and controlling the
affairs of organizations are the norm, rather than leading
through Christ-like humility and servanthood. The trademark of Hellenism
—rationalization—justifies copying the world’s ways of success.
Eventually a man becomes a Wounded Male (enosh) during which
season God completes the wounding that wasn’t accomplished in earlier
stages. Only through wounding can a
man be humbled enough to learn to trust in God in ways he
couldn’t have imagined in prior stages. Through the trials and disappointments he faces in
wounding, he truly begins to understand the needs of those
around him.
Often a man goes through the enosh stage in his
forties or early fifties, but we’ve encountered those
even in their sixties still fighting to be warriors. Sadly, they’re bludgeoning
those around them like old bull elk, trying to shore up their
diminishing physical capabilities. To renew his flagging
self-image, he may take up with a younger woman. He ignores the
instructional wounds our Father is inflicting to build his
character.
The wounding he’s undergoing creates
deep-seated confusion and frustration. He loses the purpose,
meaning, ego satisfaction he had in the Warrior Stage. In this
culture, this misunderstood and mis-termed, “mid-life
crisis” leaves him feeling isolated, as though no one
understands his misery. All he knows is that his marriage seems
unfulfilling, his children don’t seem to need him, his
job isn’t satisfying, and his body is starting to fall
apart.
Mired in a pit of self-pity and isolation,
he’s unable or even unwilling to reach out to those who
could help him see God’s purpose for this wounding. Many men lose their marriages at this time.
The enosh stage is like going through the “valley of the shadow of death.” And it is a death experience! During this time he must
learn to die to his old inclinations and goals and practices.
That’s the only way he’ll garb himself with
humility. And, it’s an essential part of our
Father’s design to raise up humble older men of wisdom who will shepherd His
children.
God has designed that the wounded stage
develop a man who is totally
dependent on Him. It’s only when the total dependence on his Lord
is complete that a man emerges from the Wounded Stage.
The severity of the wounding depends on:
1. How much sin the man tolerated in his
past, and
2. His personal access to older role models
in the faith, or lack thereof, in earlier stages.
The Hebrew term ish defines the Mature Male. This reflects a man who
has passed through his wounded period to become a person of dignity and integrity. At this stage of his life, a man is known by his
character, by who he is. No longer is he known by what he does. The
competitive spirit and desire to achieve that once drove him
has been exchanged for love, mercy,
compassion. He’s now a
reflection of our Father’s heart.
The Mature Male senses a renewal of life
purpose. No longer a warrior, he’s able to cooperate with
other men with a servant’s heart. His humility enables
him to coordinate with others in service to Jesus. Paul’s
words have special meaning for him: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain
conceit, but in humility consider
others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). This
is the true understanding of humility.
At the same time, his dependence on his
Lord empowers him to confront foolishness and practices that
aren’t of God. A courage to represent the interests of
the Father grows inside him, culminating in the next stage,
Sage/Elder.
If his marriage has endured through the
wounding process, he finds his love growing to new dimensions
toward his wife. His appreciation for her deepens, and they can
at this stage be a highly effective team to help younger
couples.
In particular the Mature male recognizes
how our Father has always wanted to use his wife to teach him
meekness. For a man to love his
wife as Jesus would love her requires absolute humility. She is called to give deference to him as to
the Lord (Ephesians 5:22,23), but
he is never to lord it over her.
This calls for mutual loving respect and cooperation between
the two of them!
The final stage, which not all men achieve
because they’ve acted foolishly in prior stages, is a man
addressed as a zaken (zah-KEN) or Sage/Elder. Zaken means “gray-bearded wise man”. He is a willing and
available mentor, revered for his
wisdom gained through life experience. Even his past mistakes and sins, and subsequent
repentance, have been used to teach him wisdom.
An Elder is a man who has truly tasted our
Father’s mercy through forgiveness. And this
understanding is what enables him to represent our Father in
caring for His children with compassion. The apostle Peter is a
striking example of a man who was fully aware of his past
shortcomings, yet learned the wisdom of humility through them
(see 1 Peter 5:1-5).
A zaken’s guidance and understanding allow him to
bring practical application to God’s Word when others
ask. As we noted in Lesson 9, in biblical times Hebraic elders
who shepherded God’s people passed along wisdom in the practical realm,
not the theoretical. They provided skillful advice for solving
current problems facing the community.
[See our book Christian
Halakhahs: Loving Jesus Through The Way You Apply His Word; and Pastoring By Elders].
The importance of an elder’s ability
to extend wise counsel and instruction is found in Paul’s
parameters for elders: “Now
the overseer [elder] must be above reproach, the husband of but
one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2).
These qualities took years to develop! The
fires of testing transformed selfish motivation and personal
gratification into selfless humility that cared for the
interests of others and regarded others more highly than
himself (Philippians 2:4).
A zaken taught through interpersonal
discussion with those who
sought his wisdom. What a contrast to today’s expository
preacher sequestered behind a pulpit as he carries on a one-way
monologue to a captive audience! (Incidentally, the 4th century
Hellenist convert, John Chrysostom, introduced the pulpit and
sermon concept to church practice. From a Hellenist standpoint,
only an educated “holy” man could speak forth the
Word of God.)
In biblical times, arrival at the stage of zaken represented the
culmination of a life worth living. God has always used
faithful elders to lead His people. From Sinai He commanded
Moses to call the elders together to convey to them God’s
plan to free His people from slavery. This pattern of elder
leadership continued in the establishment of faith communities
in the Newer Testament. Elders were, and continue to be, our
Father’s means to shepherd His children.
Yet the entire functioning of the people as
a body was not to be dependent on any one man’s efforts
or role. There was a plurality of leadership as each walked in his particular
gifting. The apostle Paul anchored the foundational ministries
of the Church, which were already part of the Hebraic stream of
Judaism centuries before the coming of Jesus.
Furthermore, he gave some people as
emissaries, some as prophets, some as proclaimers of the Good
News, and some as shepherds and teachers. Their task is to equip God’s people for
the work of service that builds the body of the Messiah, until
we all arrive at the unity implied by trusting and knowing the Son of God, at full manhood, at the standard of
maturity set by the Messiah’s
perfection (Ephesians 4:
11-13,CJB).
Through the interconnectedness of these
functions, the body of Christ was being built up into the
fulness of Christ —that is, until the Hellenist philosophers entered
Christianity and exerted influence to establish a priestly
class of educated professionals.
The Hellenist system of clergy hierarchy is
called “Nicolaitanism”. It
produced a spiritual predominance of a priestly or ministerial
order. The men who appeared to possess the greatest natural
ability dominated. Younger academics considered
“untainted by the world” were set apart to
represent the people before God. No longer were older men who
gained wisdom through life experience esteemed or called upon
for life counsel.
Daily life and “religious” life
were compartmentalized, with the former designated vulgar and
profane, and the latter as holy and sacred. The Hebraic early Church, however, considered
“sacred” a life which was walked in obedience to
God, no matter what the occupation.
With the loss of the Hebraic roots,
dependence on the Lord through His Spirit was replaced by
dependence on the clergy to approach God for them. God’s
verdict on this switch of allegiance and trust is full of grief
and anger over the loss of intimacy with His children.
Nicolaitanism,
which means “to conquer the
people”, places an
intermediary between God and those with whom He desires
fellowship. We would all do well to heed the apostle’s
warning:
But you have this in your favor: You hate
the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate... Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore, turn from these sins. Otherwise, I will come to you very soon and make war
against them with the sword of my
mouth (Revelation 2:6,15,16).
[For more on this very current topic,
please see our Hebraic Article: I
Hate Nicolaitanism].
Centuries later, in order to undergird the
Hellenist clergy/laity distinction, translators of the King James Version of
the Bible used Bancroft’s Rules of interpretation and
inserted the word “pastor” in the sense of a clergy position in
Ephesians 4:11. Most subsequent translations of the Bible have
done the same.
Had the Greek word used by Paul, poimen (poy-mayn),
meaning “shepherd”, been translated as such, this
passage would have kept continuity with the understanding of zaken in the Older
Testament. The other Newer Testament passages that refer to the
shepherding role of the elder, presbuteros (prez-boo’-tair-oss) would
also have reinforced the biblical role from the Older Testament of
elders as compassionate, self-sacrificing shepherds.
The inaccurate translation creates a false
distinction between the Greco/ Roman ecclesiastical position of
“pastor” and the Hebraic biblical role of zakenim —“shepherding elders.” This manmade
interpretation has maintained the clergy/layman distinction
even in evangelical communities—certainly a division not
intended by our Lord Who called for the priesthood of all believers!
As we’ve stated, a shepherd (Hebrew zaken/Greek poimen) was a
gray-bearded wise man of leadership who imparted wisdom and
counsel to a specific interconnected group of people. Before
the Hellenist philosophers convinced the Church leadership to
install young educated men as “pastors”, the
earliest faith communities were shepherded by older men of
wisdom. These men who had
experienced God’s forgiveness and mercy represented the
Father’s compassionate heart for His children.
The extent of elder leadership was limited
only to those the shepherd knew
personally. Never were elders
intended to control and direct large impersonal groups as so
many clergy do today. Biblical spiritual shepherds intimately knew their flock, and
led through role modeling a lifestyle that glorified God.
Every man who aspired to lead the
Father’s children was called to personally role model the
way of life others were to live. This required intimate ongoing
contact with each among the flock.
Again, the crucial limiting factor of a
man’s leadership was the number of people for whom an
elder zaken could personally render account to God. The Book
of Hebrews affirms the interconnected responsibility between
elders and their extended spiritual family:
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for
they keep watch over your lives, as people who will have to render an account. So make
it a task of joy for them, not one of groaning; for that is of no
advantage to you (Hebrews 13:
17).
The shepherds of a faith community were the
best role models of representing Christ to their extended
spiritual family. An elder’s marriage and family
represented character qualities you yourself wanted (see 1
Timothy 3:1-5).
Yet these qualities didn’t come via
something he read about. Our Hebraic forefathers understood
that a man is changed:
• by intimate access to role models.
A man changes by what he esteems in
others he respects and doesn’t want to let down.
• by being
confronted.
Confrontation is an essential part of the
shepherd-disciple relationship. That’s why Paul directs, “We ask you, brothers, to respect those
who are working hard among you, those who are guiding you in
the Lord and confronting you in
order to help you change” (1 Thessa-lonians 5:12, CJB).
• not at
all by education.
Education only permits a man to acquire
more facts. Yet, education is the method of Bible teaching that
the Hellenists introduced—impartation of concepts and
facts. That’s why so few Christian men truly participate in
their faith by walking in loving obedience in a Christ-like
manner.
Remember this key distinction:
The Hebraic-based Church that our Father
is restoring depends on the wisdom of wise biblical elders
to shepherd His children.
Writers’ Note:
If today’s church is going to regain
the relational warmth of its past, believers must seek out and
reactivate the role of older, wiser men as shepherds. A
sufficient number of sociologists over the years have stated
that when the U.S. forsook the three-generation family in the
home, i.e., grandparents, parents, and children, the destruction
of the Ameri-can family began. It has become an atomistic
society.
[See Lesson 3, Hellenist
Christianity in the U.S.. Today, for
more on the atomistic culture.]
Even Christians today in the United States
are consumed with fear of growing old. Although statistically
the elderly have increased in number in the decades since World
War II, the 300,000+ congregations in the US reflect a paucity
of seniors in influential positions of leadership and
direction.
Christianity in the U.S. has lost its
reliance on the wisdom and experience of older people. Because
of the influence of our scientific, technically advancing
society, many Christians don’t realize how emotionally
naked they are, nor do they perceive their need for the character development that
the counsel of older people provides.
The magnitude of destroyed relationships in
Christendom is too great to grasp. The process has happened in such
an insidiously subtle way since World War II that we are like
the frog put in a pot of cold water and slowly brought to a
boil. We were cooked without knowing what happened.
The Church lost much by forsaking its
Hebraic roots. The people whose wisdom is needed the most right
now are not in our congregations, nor even in our homes.
They’ve retired and moved away to warmer climates to
pursue leisure, leaving younger believers helpless and bereft of the wisdom of
experience. Christians desperately need what their Hebraic
predecessors had going for them. That’s the only way they
can stop assimilating the foolish, wicked ways of the world.
If you’re a man, in what stage do
those who know you well think you are?
If you’re a younger man, what
relationships do you have in place that are sources of
mentoring for your life?
If you’re an older man, have you made
yourself accessible to a younger man or couple to share the
life lessons you’ve experienced?
A Hebraic Perspective:
The Importance of Older Women
“Her husband is respected at the
city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom, and
faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her
household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises
her”
(Proverbs 31:23, 25-28).
The role of the elder’s wife was
wonderfully articulated in Proverbs 31:10-31. These were
qualities to which younger women aspired. With the guidance of
older women, the younger could, over time, grow in them.
Older women were also expected to model for
younger women the godly activities that would bless the needy,
as did Dorcas, “who was
always doing good and helping the poor” (see Acts 9:36; see also Proverbs 31:20).
The value of the older Christian woman from
a Hebraic standpoint is found in Titus 2:3-5:
Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, that they may encourage
the young women to love their
husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers
at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored.
The young Hebraic wife and mother was not
expected to have all the answers for raising her children; she
needed the warm wisdom and counsel of an older woman. Young
wives and mothers today need to set aside time to spend with
those who have life experiences to share of their successes and
failures with their families. Why burden your children and
husband with mistakes you could have avoided had you heeded
someone who has already “been there”?
You can easily recognize that the
admonition found in 1 Timothy 5 is counter-cultural to
today’s society. But this wisdom is key to rebuilding
your home:
Give proper recognition to those widows
who are really in need. But if a widow has children or
grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own
family and thus repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.
The widow who is really in need and left
all alone puts her hope in God and continues
night and day to pray and to ask
God for help... No widow may be put on the list of widows
unless she is over sixty, has been faithful
to her husband, and is well-known
for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing
hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in
trouble and devoting herself to all
kinds of good deeds (vv. 3-5,9,10).
These elements may seem inconvenient and
time-consuming, but they give practical impetus to your faith.
And it’s never to late to ask our Lord to change your
heart to be available for these services that so please Him!
Your acts impelled by loving faithfulness are the visual images
that your children will remember as they establish their own
homes and seek input from wise elders.
As a younger woman, what relationships do
you have in place that are sources of mentoring for your life?
If you’re an older women, have you
made yourself, and your home accessible to younger women to
share the life lessons you’ve experienced?
Writers’ Note:
A gradually increasing number of Christian
homes are re-establishing the three-generation family and being
blessed mightily in so doing. Some followers of Jesus live
close enough to their own parents that they’re able to
interact regularly. Others who have moved away are finding
surrogate parents for themselves and grandparents for their
children within Hebraic home fellowships— extended families
with older people mentoring the younger ones.
Most Christians, however, have yet to
experience restoration of the importance of the elderly within their faith communities. If anything, it appears that congregations have
become even more youth-oriented.
A Hebraic Perspective:
Growing Wise and
Remaining Teachable
“A fool finds pleasure in evil
conduct,
but a man of understanding delights in wisdom” (Proverbs 10:23).
The goal for every follower of Jesus is to
grow in wisdom and understanding to walk in His ways. But at
what point should you realize that the truths and wisdom you
desire to minister are being ignored, mocked, or used against
you? Dr. Marvin R. Wilson has written incisively about the
various meanings for the word “fool”—those
who are not wise:
“In biblical wisdom literature the
pupils of the sages and mentors are the unwise, often termed
‘fools’ (Proverbs 1:7) or ‘simple one’
(1:22). In wisdom literature the different kinds of fools, both
young and old, revealed the type of
soil on which the sages had to work.
Perhaps as much as anything else, the term fool is descriptive
of an attitude, bent of mind, or direction in life which needs correcting.”2 (emphasis added).
Since there are more than one hundred
references to fools in Proverbs alone, Hebraic thought revolved
around discerning that which was pleasing to God (wisdom) and
that which was abhorrent (foolishness).
Wilson has categorized five Hebrew words
for fool according to their distinct characteristics:
The Simple Fool (peti) found in Proverbs 1:4 denotes an ignorant or
immature person who is vulnerable to error but still teachable. The peti who is
willing to seek help should be welcomed when he sees his own
need for correction and is willing to learn and apply wisdom to
a certain area of his life.
A kesil, or Hardened Fool, is stubbornly set in his ways: “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a kesil repeats his
folly” (Proverbs 26:11). This
type of fool so enjoys his evil ways that intervention by a
wiser person would probably prove futile. He may come to you time and again for advice, but
never put it into practice. The ewil, similar to the kesil, adds
insolence and anger to his unwillingness to change (see
Proverbs 29:9) and will probably respond with quarreling and
wrath if you try to correct him.
The Mocking
Fool, or letz, is described in
Proverbs 21:24: “The proud
and arrogant man—“Mocker” is his name; he
behaves with overweening pride.” This fool disrupts the discussions of righteous men and
women and heckles people of wisdom. His arrogant pride keeps
him from admitting his need for correction. You’d be
wasting your time and effort on such a person.
The nabal is the God-denying
Fool. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no
God’” (Psalms 14:1). His
disdain for holiness closes off any opportunity for you to
admonish or correct him. (Inciden-tally, this type of fool is
no atheist. Rather, he has created his own concept of what he
wants God to be, perhaps a god who holds no one accountable for
sin, or who is so “loving” that every desire will
be met.)
It’s evident that as an elder or
mentor you must exercise discernment toward those whom you
choose to guide toward holiness. How easy it is to be
distracted and worn down by those who keep voicing their
problems over and over and yet have no real desire or intent to
change! It’s as though they want only to “empty
their garbage” another time but have no real desire to
keep their “pail” from refilling with sinful
attitudes and actions.
Your heart’s desire might be to
impart wisdom to try to change the hurting and/or disobedient.
But if they’re determined to remain in their folly, your
words will fall on deaf ears: “Though
you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding him like grain with a
pestle, you will not remove his folly from him” (Proverbs 27:22).
Jesus certainly understood the issue of
dealing with fools. He constrained His disciples from dealing
with the Hardened, Mocking, or God-denying fool by warning, “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not
throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them
under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces” (Matthew 7:6).
As you attempt to come alongside to
minister to people, remember the practical Hebraic focus of
imparting wisdom:
• “Simple” fools can be
taught and are worthy of your time and wisdom.
• The “hardened”,
“mocking”, “angry”, and
“God-denying” fools must be cut off until they
repent of their depraved ways of thinking and desire wisdom in
order to change. In essence, they desire to hold onto their sin
and refuse to listen.
The principle found in Matthew
chapter 18 applies here: “But
if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that
‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two
or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them,
tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the
church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax
collector” (vv. 16,17).
It’s the responsibility of the person
being mentored, the one seeking wisdom, to make it pleasant for
a wiser person to invest his time in him. Otherwise, both
should reevaluate the nature of their relationship. “He who walks with the wise will become
wise, but the companion of fools will suffer” (Proverbs 13:20).
What type of fool do those who know you
consider you to be? What type have you been most often during
your life?
Describe the older people of wisdom who
have had an impact on your life. What character qualities drew
you to them? How were you changed by your relationship with
them?
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