Proverbs 15:31-33 RA Different Types Of Ears

Bragging On Jesus

Proverbs 15:31 The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. 32 Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. 33 The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor. What Type Of Ears Do You Have? You know there’s different kinds of ears right? In the fantasy world there are elf and dwarf and human ears and what… fairy and troll ears... In the real world our ears may be very similar physically but they can be dissimilar in other ways. Some people have an ear for music… they can sit down at a piano for the first time and pick out a beautiful melody. I would say that the amazing guitarist Jimi Hendrex had an ear for music… it has been said that the guitar was like an extension of who he was. it was as though he could hear it in his mind, and then it just happened… He had a heart and an ear for music and somehow this passion was connected to the tips of his fingers. In chapter 15 Solomon has been showing us something similar on a spiritual level. How things that comes out of a person are an extension of the spiritual condition of our heart. In previous devotions we talked about how the mouth is an extension of the heart but today Solomon mentions another body part that is motivated by the heart… the ear; and I think it is actually a precursor to the mouth… it comes first… The action of the ear may just be the first sign of a person who has been given a heart for God. ... You know, we’re all drawn to various kinds of information throughout that life. Some turn their heads when they hear someone mention fishing or hunting, lifting weights, or a author you love to read… Whatever it is, your heart has tagged these things as important to you and whenever your ear picks up a hint of those things it zones in on them and you turn and listen and spark up in conversation with that person to share experiences and learn more about this thing you love. As a Believer, these new things we now love, these things about the awesomeness of God… they are tagged and our ears are on the look out for more and more of the treasures that can be found in Jesus… Those with ears like this will dwell among the wise. Solomon mentions this as one who “listens to life-giving reproof”… What does that mean? It is not saying God is always mad at us or an evil dictator over us…. But God is always directing us in his way for our joy… and when we have an ear for what he is telling us, it is going to be for our good and his glory. Solomon says those who don't have an ear for him actually despise their own selves. As Believers, our heart is not only synced to our ears but to our legs and our feet and hands… Our heart no longer longs to fellowship with people who want to exalt themselves instead of God… We now love to hang with those who are wise in the Lord… Those who love the Lord. Solomon indicates that it is the humble who receive instruction… It is the humble who admit their sinfulness and call to the Lord with a heart of faith in him and his word. These are the wise people with a beautiful approachable engaging gift of humility. And if we have an ear like todays passages speaks of, we will want to be around these kind of people. We are so thankful that God gave us Spiritual ears to hear how Jesus is the best news we could ever know. How he willingly took our place fulfilling our sentence by penalty of the death we deserve when he died on the Cross. Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. And 2nd Corinthians 5:21 says: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Then on the third day he rose from the dead and conquered the wages of sin… with victory over the hold it had… the spiritual death or separation from God and the physical death because God will give us a new body like he has with his resurrection.