TLIC Family. PROVERBS. JANUARY 4: INSIGHT.

THINK TOGETHER.

Look at the people around you. Can you tell what they are thinking?

READ TOGETHER

Proverbs 1:2. To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight,

Another part of being wise is having insight. Sight lets you see what is happening on the outside of a person, but insight lets you see what is happening on the inside of a person. Insight lets us understand not only what is happening but WHY it is happening.

For example, if you see a person on the street corner asking for money you might simply see a poor person, but you don’t know why they’re poor. Or maybe you see another student at school picking on someone. Without insight you are quick to just call them a bully and stay away. But insight lets you think about WHY they are being mean. Was someone mean to them first? Are they having a bad day? Do they need a friend? Insight doesn’t just simply label people as good OR bad. Rather, it is able to see both the good and the bad in people and in situations.

How do we get insight? Notice that Solomon calls it words of insight. That means we get insight from words. This includes God’s word, the Bible. It also includes people’s words. Getting to know them by listening to them.    

Knowing the word of Jesus, the gospel gives us the most insight. When we look at the cross we see that everyone is bad and needs to be saved. But we also see that God loves everyone and sees them as worth dying for. The more we know this “word of the cross,” the more insightful we can be when relating to others.

Because of Jesus everyone is worth knowing and understanding.

With Jesus we can understand ourselves and others better.

DO SOMETHING TOGETHER

Go around and ask each other one question to know each other better. Make it a “why” question (not “what” is your favorite sport, but “why” is football your favorite sport). What insight did you gain?

PRAY TOGETHER

Jesus, your cross proves that we are all both bad and yet lovable. We are complicated not simple. Help me to take the time to learn about others and love them no matter what just like you love me. Amen.