"Knowing what is right is like deep water in the heart;

a wise person draws from the well within."

Proverbs 20:5

I've been making my way through the book of Proverbs this month, a book well-known for it's one-liners of wisdom.  As I read, I'm often  "mmhmmm-ing" along.  Much of it seems so obvious to me and "of course!" but then I am quickly quieted when I realize, despite "knowing" what is right, I am still so often choosing what is wrong.  We are bombarded each day with terrible things, things happening around us, in our society, in the world and if you read through Proverbs you can easily pinpoint some of the areas where we (as a society) have totally missed it. 
-Start with God (Proverbs 1)
-Honor God and give Him the first and the best (Proverbs 3)
-Don't take love for granted (Proverbs 5)
-No Excuses (Proverbs 6)
-Don't devote your life to things (Proverbs 11)
-Give reliable reports (Proverbs 13)-
-Sift and weigh every word (Proverbs 14)
-Speak kind words, walk in humility (Proverbs 15)
-Haste makes waste (Proverbs 19)
-Pursue what is right and kind (Proverbs 21)

None of those phrases really seems earth-shattering to me, it all seems like common sense.  Right?  So then why is it so hard to do?  There's such a difference in knowing and using that knowledge.  As the verse in Proverbs 10:5 says, knowing the right thing is like deep water in the heart.  But alas, there the water will stay, doing NOTHING unless it is drawn out.  The second part says that a WISE person actually uses that knowledge (draws it out).  The wonderful thing is that the wisdom in Proverbs is relevant today.  Unlike technology which is always changing, and once you've figured out how to use/handle one thing, it's already obsolete, the wisdom in the Bible is relevant yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  It does not become obsolete.  It is always applicable.  It is something worth putting time and effort into because it is timeless. 

What I also love about that verse is that once the knowledge is IN me, it is always available for me to tap into.  That's why we try to teach our kids so many things when they are young, so that the information is there (somewhere) deep inside of them.  We try to instill in them the idea of sharing, boundaries and the knowledge that they are loved so that when they are older, they can be respectful adults who are a positive influence on the world.  Benjamin has entered the age of copying what he sees.  Which is just heart-melting at times because he picks up a book to "read" when I sit down to read.  It is also terrifying because if (when) I snap in anger, he is starting to copy that too.  I wonder, what kind of knowledge am I imparting to him?  What kind of water will he draw up from his well (heart)?  What kind of knowledge am I allowing into my own heart?  Does resentment and bitterness flavor the water of my well?  Or humility and forgiveness? 

This month, Ivan had the opportunity to attend a conference, hosted by YL, in Amsterdam.  I had to wrestle with my feelings a little (ok, a lot) because there was some resentment that cropped up.  He got to go travel to new, exciting places while I spent the week conversing with a 1-year old.  He would call with updates on the things he saw, the topics he was learning, and I was counting it a good day if I took a shower.  I was starting to draw up water tainted by jealousy and envy.  Once the well gets tainted, you need to dump it out, clean it out, and refill with fresh water.  (Well, I don't really know how wells work but that's what I do with a filled water bottle that's gotten a funky smell).  So, I've been in a process lately of taking a hard look at what's in my well.  Because there have been some funky smells.  And I don't want to drink that any more.  And I certainly don't want to offer it to anyone else.