The theme of last year's MAF Haiti retreat was the book of Philippians.....packed full of inspiring tidbits which can be applied to many areas of life. This year's retreat dug a bit more into the nitty-gritty of the soul. We were poked and prodded and wriggled under the truth that was shared. This year's theme was .........WISDOM. Not unity, or standing strong, or marriage/family, or renewing our strength. Wisdom.
Dr. Lee Heyward came and spoke to us from the books of Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. He began with an introduction of wisdom taken from Proverbs. Wisdom is the ability to see and respond to a situation from God's perspective. A fool ignores God's standard of justice/leadership and ignores wisdom. (Prov. 14:12, 15:24) Calvin said, "We cannot know God without knowing ourselves, and we cannot know ourselves without knowing God." Wisdom pays, protects and prepares. Even a fool is considered wise when he holds his tongue. (Prov. 17:28) Instead of making declarations, ask questions. Make wisdom your life goal. Associate with wise people.
The next section was about taming the tongue. To master your mouth is to monitor maturity. If you want to control your tongue you must correct your nature. If you want to correct your nature you must change your heart. If you want to change your heart you must surrender to Christ. If you want to control your tongue, talk less. :) Think before you speak. (Prov. 16:23) This is a tricky one.... Choose truth-telling over peace-keeping. Prov. 27:6--Faithful are the words of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. Try these checkpoints before you confront someone...... Check your relationship. Check your attitude. Check your lifestyle. Also consider the timing and ask God for help. Ps. 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
