Quality generic products are often rejected by consumers who have been programmed to purchase a name brand. It's as if a product has no value without society's stamp of approval.
In the same way wisdom is often rejected from those who don't fit into our prefabbed patterns because we have been programmed to only accept advice from people with a proper title or education.
Education is my career field but some of the wisest people I've known preferred jean overalls to suits and never finished high school. On the other hand, some of the most educated people I've known are as dumb as a box of rocks. These are extreme examples, of course, but the point is that it's silly to judge a book by its cover.
Don't reject wisdom because of the look or station of its oracle.
This is a biblical principle.
God used a donkey to speak to Balaam, a child to speak to and defeat a giant (David), a man with a speech impediment (Moses) to deliver the Jews from Egypt, and a weirdo with a coat of camel hair and a diet of locusts (John the Baptist) to preach repentance to the lost.
Packaging and labels (or the lack thereof) hindered the people alive during the life of Jesus as well.
-"He came unto His own and His own received Him not."
John 1:11
-Nathaniel heard of Jesus and asked "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"
John 1:46 The implication was that no one from that city could have anything to offer.
-"He was despised and rejected--a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care."
Isaiah 53:3 NLT
-Jesus completed His life's mission on the cross OUTSIDE the city (
Hebrews 13:12).
People submitted to God often do their greatest work for Him outside of the boxes in which family and friends would place them.
Elijah at Cherith and then Mt. Carmel.
Joseph in a foreign land thrown in a pit, a prison and elevated to a palace.
Daniel at a window, a lions den and then in front of a godless king.
One does not need to be in a church service to hear the voice of God. Ministers have no monopoly on wisdom. It's a supernatural gift from God to His body.
More often than not the greatest revivals occur outside the camp. The greatest wisdom comes in unexpected packages. Unlock wisdom by developing a godly and open heart, and a sensitive ear.
Godliness requires judging things with the heart instead of the eyes.
1 Samuel 16:7
Value substance over image.
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