Whatever Happened to Common Sense?

Last evening as I was watching the local news, several so called experts were used to give advice on a variety issues. After the third expert or so ... I turned to my wife and said, "I could have said as much!"  Now I don't consider myself an expert on much of anything. I realize I have a lot to learn about a huge boatload of things. But what hit me about what these experts were sharing was this: each one of them was offering good old-fashioned common sense! And that is something that appears to be a vanishing commodity in our world.

Now ... just where does a person gain common sense? One blogger I just read said this about common sense: "The source of common sense remains a great mystery… God help us all."  I must disagree with this individual. I believe several of the ways we attain common sense can be identified. Here are three for you to consider: 

1. Hang out with wise people. Proverbs 13:20 encourage us to, "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm." In talking about common sense ... this verse suggests that if we hang out with people who display common sense, we will tend to catch it! (Wisdom, by the way, is simply the appropriate application of knowledge to life)

2. Immerse yourself in the book of Proverbs. When you consider that the whole reason King Solomon put together this book was for "the attaining of wisdom and discipline and for understanding words of insight" (see Proverbs 1:1-6 for a full explanation of his rationale for writing this book), it makes a lot of sense (should I say "common sense?") to saturate our minds with the book of Proverbs. If you want to be known as a person of common sense, you will make Proverbs a regular (daily?) companion (I am currently using a Bible reading schedule that will take me through the book of Proverbs once a month).

3. Intentionally cultivate a  healthy fear of God! The Scriptures clearly teach us that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (see Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10). In a day and age in which the God is being stripped of his majesty, we must make a conscious effort to remind us that even though God is our Father ... He is our Father IN HEAVEN! As we grow in our esteem of Him ... we will also grow in our wisdom and insight! 

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj