In His Name Devotionals
IVY OR OAK?
In His Name Devotionals
IVY OR OAK?
“Take hold of instruction: do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life.” (Proverbs 4:13 NASB)
Following “young dreams of old schemes,” some among us seem to prefer quantity over quality, personality over character, success over substance, talent over experience, glory over honor, fiction over reality, physical over spiritual, darkness over light.
While it’s true that the 21st Century offers more opportunities to take the Gospel of Christ to the whole world than ever in the history of mankind, still it’s also true that unless we “Take hold of instruction,” reversing old schemes, we are likely to hinder the Gospel for generations to come.
“A young man, be his merit what it will be, can never raise above himself; but must, like the ivy around the oak, twine himself round men of great power and prestige” (Words of Lord Chesterfield).
Younger preachers are usually like ivy. They need to work with men of spiritual power and prestige—oaks. To grow upward spiritually, a young preacher needs someone with experience and wisdom to cling to and lean on. If left alone, as so many are today, without the spiritual instruction of deeply rooted spiritual oaks, the younger preacher will probably remain spiritually weak—shallow rooted ground cover. You’d think it would be obvious to church leaders that you can’t strengthen or build much of anything with shallow rooted ground cover!
To grow spiritually upward, a younger (ivy-like) preacher needs the help and direction of an older (oak-like) preacher.
Stonewall Jackson advised: “Seek those who are intelligent & virtuous & if possible those who are a little above you, especially in moral excellence” (Stonewall Jackson’s Book of Maxims, Cumberland House Publishing).
In 1838, Chesterfield wrote: “Endeavor, as much as you can, to keep company with people above you, for…you are whatever the company you keep is”.
Read Proverbs 3:5. Do you “trust in the Lord”? Or do you “lean on your own understanding”? Then, after considering Proverbs 16:31 and 20:29, ask yourself: “What kind of preacher would a younger Timothy have become without an older Paul?” Oh how we need to keep our older, wiser, experienced, biblically rooted preachers. If we continue cutting down our “old growth” spiritual oaks, we’ll soon be left with only ivy—shallow rooted ground cover. Sadly, some of us are there already.
