"Got Questions?"

Proverbs 15:28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,
but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
We have all heard it said there is no such thing as a stupid question. I believe that is true. A question simply implies a lack of information or a lack of understanding that needs to be clarified. So asking a question is simply a way of soliciting needed answers to a problem or issue. Having said that let me add this. While there are no stupid questions, there are a seemingly endless supply of stupid answers. These stupid answers tend to happen for the following reasons.
Lack of knowledge of the subject being addressed.
Failing to understand the question.
A lack of courage to give the right answer.
The fear of saying “I don’t know”. Because of this fear, you attempt to answer a question about a subject you know nothing about. Always a bad idea.
All these can contribute to the problem of stupid answers. But I think it would be safe to say that at the top of the list of reasons for stupid answers is simply this. People fail to take the time to think about the question that was asked. “the heart of the righteous ponders how to answer”. The word “ponders” means to weigh or study. It means that between the question and the answer there is a pause, there is time for consideration, time to think, time to mull over the question and the answer. It may be a short pause if the person knows the answer, or it may be a longer period of time if the answer is not readily apparent or more information or study is needed. The righteous person is not simply looking to give “an answer”. They want to give the right answer, an answer that will help, educate, and encourage. They desire to give an answer that is based on truth but also provide an answer that the hearer can understand. How you answer a child’s question will often take more thought than how you may answer the same question asked by an adult. I think far to often we throw out “pat answers” to difficult questions and simply frustrate people. There are some tough questions that are not easily answered. Marriage issues, parenting issues, suffering, evil, etc. These are things that sometimes cause us to ask difficult questions,. Yes, there are always the cliches we can toss out as answers. However these are often just a smoke screen hiding the fact we do not know the real answer. Sometimes these "pat answers" simply reveal we do not care enough about you to really give your question any kind of deep thought or consideration. Parents some times just “brush off” the questions of their children because they are to busy to answer them or don’t know the answers themselves. This just frustrates children , they know what we’re really doing. We have all asked questions and when the answer was given we were left either totally confused, or wondering if they even heard the question. When this happens in the home, it is not to long before the children start taking their questions to the street. Please remember this - There is no shortage of people in this world who would love to answer all our children’s questions about life, God, morality etc. Is that what we want?
The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer. It is not wrong or a sign of weakness or ignorance to say “I don’t know”. It is not wrong to say, “that is a great question, can I get back to you on that? Do you mind if I take some time to think before I answer that question." Who in their right mind is going to say “no, I want you to answer my question without thinking about it”? There is nothing wrong with silence. Silence can in fact be golden. Pondering a question put to us is a way of demonstrating love to the one who asked the question. You are valuable to me and therefore I am not going to take your question lightly. I want to really help you find an answer. So we pray, ponder, and prepare in our hearts how to answer. We do not want to be like the wicked who just pour out evil things, blah, blah, blah. Got questions? they've got answers. There is no shortage of talk in this world, but there is a glaring shortage of truth. The wicked speak now and think later. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” “Where there are many words sin is not lacking.” The wicked love to talk, love to answer questions about things they know nothing about. To them an opinion (their opinion) is as good as the truth. Remember, just because someone is talking does not necessarily mean they know something.
Questions can be intimidating, but usually that intimidation comes for thinking we need answers immediately. It can be very humbling to say “I don’t know” , but humility is a good thing. So don’t be afraid of questions. “the heart of the righteous ponders how to answer.” It may be a friend, or one of your children asking you a question, love them enough to ponder the answer before you give it. Speak from a heart of love. A heart that loves that person enough to give them a thoughtful, truthful and timely answer.
May these words of Solomon guide us as we ponder in our hearts how to answer ...
Ecc 12:9-10 “Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.”

"A Fountain of Life"

Probably one of the most famous fountains in the world is one that doesn’t actually exist. It is called the fountain of youth. A mystical, magical fountain filled with water that will restore the youth of anyone who drinks it. Proverbs talks about another kind of a fountain, not the fountain of youth but the fountain of life.
Proverbs 13:14 “the teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.”
The water flowing out of this fountain is the “teaching of the wise”. The content of this teaching turns the hearers away from the snares of death. Hence the name, Fountain of life.” There area great many teachers today whose words are not a fountain of life. They say we can’t be to negative, we have to be positive, we have to entertain. Consequently you could call their teaching the “fountain of laughter.” People leave their meetings with a chuckle in their head, but clueless in their heart as to the dangers in this world. Dangers that can ensnare and destroy them. They are entertained but empty. They are silly, senseless, sinners headed for destruction and have heard nothing that would cause them to consider their ways. The great need in our society is not the need to learn how to laugh. People need to learn how to live. The teaching of the wise will help people do that. Unfortunately not everyone wants to drink from that fountain. Fools despise teaching and instruction, fools want you to make them laugh and then leave them alone.
Life is filled with snares, things can can make a 25 year old look like they are 95. Sin has destroyed their bodies, their relationships, their minds. Sin is a hard taskmaster. People need to be warned about sin, but simply warning people about sin is not the fountain of life. The fountain of life is the wisdom, salvation and the transforming power of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He who drinks from this fountain will never thirst again. John 4. The teaching of the wise introduces people to Jesus who said “come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Math 11:29-10 That is the fountain people need to drink from. It will not recover your youth, it will do something better, it will restore your relationship with God. At this fountain you will find forgiveness and new life. It will give you a new heart, a new mind, and one day a new body. It will put a new song in your mouth even praise to your God. You will have a new master, one who loves you and gave his life for you on the cross, his name is Jesus.
This verse presents us with two questions we need to ask ourselves.
Do I drink from this fountain, the fountain of wisdom, the fountain of those who are seeking to help me live a godly life? Word of God, other believers, etc.
In my teaching and conversations with others is what they hear a fountain of life, in that it turns people away from the snares of death?
May I be a wise teacher not only by the words I say but even more importantly by way I live. If I am warning people about the snares of death with my lips but leading them to those snares with my life, there will be no life in my teaching only death. We teach with our lips as well as our lives. May we prayerfully and powerfully be this kind of teacher, One whose teaching “is a fountain of life to turn away from the snares of death and leading people to Jesus, the way the truth and the life”