A WORD TO THE WISE. Proverbs 29: 26 "DO I KNOW YOU?"

Proverbs 29: 26     Many seek the ruler’s favor, but justice for man comes from the Lord.

They say, “It’s not what you know. It’s who you know?”  

Buford Graves said, “There’s always one person who can tell you, ‘Yes,’ when everyone else has said, ‘No’ and can tell you, ‘No’” when everyone else has said, ‘Yes.’ Meet that person, and when you have a problem, that’s the person you talk to.”

Pay attention now.  The key thing in Pops’s advice is meeting that key person BEFORE you have a problem.  

My father gave me this advice on my first day as a freshman at Alabama State University.  Then he dropped off my bags in front of C.J. Dunnn Arena, gave me some money, and drove back to Mississippi. I didn’t have  schedule or a dorm room.  And this was before cell phones. 

Alone, on a college campus, I followed Pops’s advice.  I walked from office to office meeting every administrative vice president, director, and dean even remotely related to my majors.  

“No, sir. No, ma’am. I don’t need anything. I’m Anderson Graves, Thurgood Marshall scholar from Mississippi, and I just wanted to introduce myself to you.”

And do you know what every one of those ph.d.’s and power-brokers said to me before I left his/her office?  They said, “If you have any problems, you come directly to me.”

Now, some of my friends had hook-ups in the front of these offices.  They knew the work-study student who worked in filing, or the secretary who worked reception, or the clerk at one of the desks.  I was respectful and polite to all those people, but when I needed something, I walked past their desks.  I entered the big door in the back and talked to the one person who could say yes when everyone else had said no and no when everyone else had said yes.

They shared advice,  explained how the system really worked,  solved problems for me, and offered me new opportunities, but not because I knew who they were. Anybody with a campus directory or a school yearbook knew who they were.  I could get resolution while others were bound up in red tape because I had established a relationship with the bosses.  I had access to the bosses because THEY KNEW ME. 

It’s not just what you know.  It’s not just whom you know.  There’s also, critically a matter of WHO KNOWS YOU?

Does the Boss know you?

You need guidance and blessing that only God can provide.  Do you already have a personal one-to-one covenant relationship with Jesus?  Does He already know you?

Or, do you keep trying to get in good with God because of what you need at the moment.

You may begin to say, “Come on, Lord.  It’s us.  Don’t you remember us?   We went to your house on Sundays sometimes.  We had dinner in your fellowship halls.  We did the communion thing.  You had a preacher in and out of our neighborhood.” (Luke 13: 25, 26) 

But God will say, “Hey, Jack!  I said I don’t know you like that.  This blessing isn’t for people who are outside of My will and My favor.  So all of ya’ll can kick rocks!” (Luke 13: 27)
You may know of Jesus, but if He doesn’t know you, then ultimately it ain’t gonna work out well. 

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. (Luke 13: 28)

It’s not just what you know, or whom you know.  The crucial question is DOES HE KNOW YOU? 

You may find yourself at the door/ gate of opportunity having little to open the door.

If you have and are living according to a real personal relationship in Jesus Christ, then He knows you.

He’ll see you at the door and say, “Hey.  I know you.  You’re one of Mine.  I know your work.  I’ve seen what you’re trying to do for My kingdom, in line with my will.  Come on around here, son.   Forget all these fools crowding here trying to get into a closed opportunity.  Come down to an entrance just for you.” 

See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. (Revelations 3: 8)

Pops was right.  What you know matters.  Whom you know matters. But the most important thing is WHO KNOWS YOU.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Call  334-288-0577
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
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To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme@blogspotcom.

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