Wise for Thyself

(Pro 9:12 KJV)  If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

As I looked at this verse today I consulted the commentaries on my software.  I downloaded a few new ones and wanted to see if they had anything to offer.  There was a consensus going on.  They agreed that it is of primary importance to apply the lessons you learn to yourself first.  Have you had the experience of hearing a sermon and knowing just who needed to hear it?  The sad part is that often it is someone else when the Holy Spirit is trying to talk to you, or me.  

Even the second greatest commandment points this out in telling us to love our neighbor as ourselves.  In this day of narcissism and safe spaces we have swung the pendulum far past its intended resting place.  That is why it is wisdom that needs to be applied.  It isn’t talk about rights and what you deserve.  It is taking the eternal standards of the eternal God and conforming our lives to them.

So?  Mow your own lawn and then go help your neighbor.