Then we come to some of the benefits once again of wisdom. ‘Counsel is mine.
Years ago there was always the checklist for Christians. How should I behave in certain situations? My checklist said – and this was widely taught, forty years ago to young people in the churches – do not smoke, do not drink, do not dance, do not go to movies, do not do this, do not do that; a long list. Now wisdom does not only give you a list, it puts reasons behind it. You must not dance because of this and for this reason. You must avoid this practice because it will have this effect on you. When you are a student of the Bible, it does not just tell you what to do. God in his great kindness condescends to us, and explains why he does not want us to do that. As soon as we stop learning the whys, we can be easily drawn away from the rules, and that is what has happened in recent decades.