Contemplative Bible Reading

Hebrews 5:14 (New Living Translation)

14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

Some of us can recognize the difference between right and wrong. Let’s consider this. Those folks are (1) mature, (2) have been trained, and (3) have skill.

Note some of the things that are missing:

• comes from the right family
• has been around a long time
• highly education at college
• has lots of money
• dresses well

The list of things that are not mentioned could go on and on. Maturity can come with time, but it can also come quickly given some experiences in life. Training is not formal education. It can be “street smarts” or “country smart” or lots of other things. Skill? I view that as something developed and not taught. Skill could be lots of other things as well.

Some things are right; some things are wrong. Some of us have the maturity, training, and skill to recognize the difference. If you have those qualities, you also probably have the quality of not pushing right and wrong onto others, but working with them so that they too have those qualities.