The Way Ministries

Dr. Carlos Quijada: Hello everyone, and welcome to this first episode of this podcast titled Walking the Way with Dr. Carlos Quijada. I’m really excited to get this started. It’s been announced for quite some time, but the time has come to finally get on with this new journey called Walking the Way.

Welcome to all of my listeners, and first off, I want to encourage you that at any given point, please feel free to share this video so that more people would get to listen and with time build up an audience. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Carlos Quijada. I wear various hats. I’m a husband, a father, also an educator and a pastor in the city of San Antonio.

Our ministry is called The Way Ministries and we’ve been around for already a few years. Teaching the word of God is one of my greatest passions, so this is going to be a time in which we’re going to talk about life and see what the Bible says about different things that we experience as human beings. I encourage you to take some notes, follow our page at The Way Ministry Central, and just be encouraged by these words.

I want to start off by talking a little bit about why this podcast. We live in a time where there’s a lot of voices out there, a lot of things that people say on what to do and what not to do. Right now in the United States, the political climate is heavy, with a lot of opposing poles on different ideas and different things.

It’s very important for us to put things in perspective. I just felt this heavy lead in my heart to create a space, and I know I’m not the only one doing this, but to provide a theological perspective about things that we go through in life and see how God’s word can connect with you. Maybe you’re someone who has never read the Bible, or you don’t attend a church, or you have no connection with what the Bible says or with God and Jesus.

If you’re watching this, it’s totally okay for you to sit and listen to some of these things because I’m not here to talk deep preachings and things like that. I’m here to talk to you at a human level. There’s going to be times where I’m going to have some guests come over and discuss different topics such as relationships, parenting, finances, and so on and so forth.

Anything that involves the human experience, whether it’s mental health, physical health, or spiritual health, these are topics that we’re going to cover here. As we kick off this new season, I have thought of starting a series that will really be a foundation to all the things that we’re going to discuss during the life of this podcast.

I titled this series "A Great Way to Start." There’s that song that those from my generation and maybe before me know, the "Do-Re-Mi" song from The Sound of Music. The song goes, "Let's start from the very beginning, a very good place to start." In Walking the Way, where do we start? What does the beginning look like?

That is what I want to spend the next 20 minutes or so discussing: what is going to be the foundation of the things that we’re going to talk about here. I would love to hear from my listeners and audience with any questions or any comments. I want this to be interactive, so in the link you’re going to have access to ways to contact me and how to interact. You can submit questions, and I will do my best to answer them in future episodes.

Today, I’m just going to introduce what this is going to be about and lay out that base for the things that are going to be discussed here. One of the things that the Bible teaches us is the importance of wisdom. My prayer is that during these segments, I can share wisdom. There’s a very crucial difference that I need to highlight, and it's between knowledge and wisdom.

Basically, if we’re going to go in simple terms, knowledge is the compilation and the recollection of facts and things that you know. To gain knowledge, we go to school or to universities, for those who have access to that. We learn from our parents by observing the things that they do, and we learn how to read, how to do math, and how to do different things that, as we get older, we keep building on.

But wisdom is something deeper. Wisdom is the application of that knowledge in a way that is righteous, in a way that you’re going to find purpose. We see that when we talk about wisdom, it has a more spiritual connotation to that. When we talk about the Bible, the Bible is a book that has instructions for different things, such as how to be a good spouse, a good parent, or a good child.

It also teaches us the tenets of our faith and how we can be people that reflect the character of God and Jesus, who came to this earth to show us the way. It also talks about how we can experience the love of God. I always like to say that John 3:16 is the summary of the whole Bible story, and it's that God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.

In all these things and how to really be the type of person that we were meant to be, we need wisdom. When we go to the Bible, Proverbs is one of the wisdom books. It's actually the most well-known book of wisdom in the Bible. There are a few others: Job, Ecclesiastes, the Book of Songs.

Proverbs is attributed to a king by the name of Solomon, who was the son of King David. Perhaps you heard of King David, and now there’s this series that is going on, The House of David, and you might be watching the story of David. He had a son by the name of Solomon, and when he was still relatively young, he took over the kingship of the nation of Israel.

I’m going to talk a little bit about Solomon in just a few moments, but Proverbs is a book that was written by him, though there were a few other authors that also wrote there. This book teaches wisdom through short terms or points or principles. They’re not laws. Some things that we read in the book of Proverbs are not a magical formula that if you do X, Y, and Z, then this is going to happen.

They are mostly general universal principles that are very beneficial for us. It talks a lot about the human experience. One of the things I love about Proverbs is that it really connects with people at a very human level. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Christian or a Buddhist or a Muslim or an atheist; there are experiences that are common ground to all of us humans.

Even though you have a different belief than I do, there are things that are undeniable. For example, we know that if we don’t take care of our bodies the right way, we’re going to get sick. If we consume too much of a substance that could be harmful to us, no matter what your belief is, things are just going to fall apart. Same with relationships.

If you don’t educate your children in ways that they’re going to grow up to be an asset to society, it doesn’t matter what your beliefs are. These are principles that may lead, and of course, like I said, at some point we’re going to talk about parenting, but not always good parenting might yield kids that will do the right thing because kids are influenced by other things. In Proverbs, we see some principles that are going to guide us in making good decisions.

It helps us do things in ways that will benefit not just you but your relationships and the outcome of things that you do. Of course, we can find wisdom in other parts of the Bible, but we’re going to start off with this book. Like I said, Proverbs was mostly written by King Solomon. When he became king, he made a very important request, and that is that God would give him wisdom.

As I was getting ready to start this podcast, I asked God, "God, give me wisdom on how to do this," because I’ve been teaching the word of God for quite some time, but every time we start something new, we need the guidance and wisdom of God. Again, this to you might mean different things or look in different ways, but we’re going to have conversations about that.

We’re going to have discussions to learn about each other and see what is the truth. One of the things that also is part of the human experience is that we are seeking truth. Some might seek it in the wrong places or places that might seem like the right ones, but then disillusion sets in. Life is about seeking truth, and we'll unpack more on that at another time.

I want to read from Proverbs chapter one. It says in the opening verse that "The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel," and here is a first indication of him who wrote it. Like I said, there are some parts mostly towards the end of this book that are attributed to other individuals, but for the most part, these proverbs were written by Solomon.

Just as I'm doing today, the book starts with the why. Why this book? Why are these words useful? Why do we still have this book? This is a book that was written thousands of years ago. It was a very different world and a different social culture context. The Middle East in ancient times was a completely different world, and yet we find that there are words in this book that are relevant to us today.

It says in verse two, "to know wisdom and instruction, to discern the sayings of understanding." I mentioned before that the proverbs are not a set of laws or a "one plus one equals two" type of rules, but these are instructions. These are sayings. It’s kind of like in our Western culture and also in Eastern culture, people have sayings that have been passed down generation after generation.

I remember growing up that my parents would always be telling sayings, things that they learned from their forefathers and things like that, and there's a lot of truth in them. They're not laws that apply every single time, but they help us have understanding on how things work in this world. We find here that it’s to know wisdom and instructions.

It also says in verse three, "to receive instruction in wise behavior." One of the things that I do besides pastoring is that I’m also in the mental health counseling field. If you’re a counselor, I just want to say hi to you as my colleague. In my work as a counselor, I run into people that engage in behaviors that are not healthy.

A lot of them come to counseling because they have at least contemplated the need to change their ways because it’s just not working out. There’s a quote by Einstein that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Here, we find instructions on how to have wise behaviors that are going to help you do better in life.

Oftentimes there are things that happen to us not because of somebody else's fault or because God wanted it to be that way; it's just the fruit of behaviors that we have. There’s the law of planting and reaping. If I plant an avocado seed or an apple seed, I’m not going to harvest an orange tree. We all know if I want to have a tree of a certain fruit, I need to plant the seed of that particular fruit.

The same is true with things in life. Our actions will generate an effect. When we act, there's a react. That can happen to us directly. Things that I do, I get an effect from it. Sometimes the way we treat other people can cause a reaction. So, it’s important if we want to be successful in life that we apply behaviors that are wise and appropriate.

The book of Proverbs promises to guide us in that endeavor on how to behave correctly and how to be wiser with all the things that have to do with our lives. It says "righteousness, justice and equity; to give prudence to the naive, to the youth knowledge and discretion." It doesn't matter where you are in your walk of life.

You might be a young person or you can be an experienced person because in verse five it says, "a wise man will hear and increase in learning." So, it doesn't matter how young you are or inexperienced, or how old and experienced you are; you can benefit from the word of this book. You can increase your knowledge and learn discretion, but most importantly, you can gain wisdom.

It says "and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel. Verse six, to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles." All these things will help us have a clear picture of all the things that you are meant to reach. I want to close with this final verse for today, and it says "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Knowledge is the collection of facts, but wisdom is the right use of what we know for daily living. All that is connected to having a right relationship with the one who created you. This is key for each of us to really learn wisdom. It says it's the beginning of it. For us to embark in this path and walk the way, we need first of all to recognize that obviously, we didn’t create ourselves.

The universe—I know there are different theories out there, and that’s something that we will address as well at some point—but what are the different theories about the origins of life and the origins of the cosmos? What are the things that would make more sense? A lot of scientists have agreed that everything started with a creator. There can’t be other ways.

So, the same way you and I, we must begin with our origin: who made us, and why are we here? When we understand that and we assume the attitude of, "You know what, I want to not fear in the sense of being afraid or cowardice type of fear, but more a fear of being reverent and come humbly with a heart willing to be instructed," that is the beginning of wisdom.

I just want to encourage you to have an open hand. No matter what your belief is or what your background is, this message is for you. Just have an open hand and an open heart to engage in these conversations. My prayer is that you can reach the conclusions that will help you make better sense of your life.

I want to end with this quote from Watkee, who said: "What the alphabet is to reading, notes to reading music, and numerals to mathematics, the fear of the Lord is to attaining the revealed knowledge of this book." We can know a lot of things. We can know how to understand finances, for example, but to be able to manage a good budget, that is wisdom.

To be able to apply what you and I know and use it for good, that is the essence of what wisdom is. I just want to thank you for watching. Like I said in the beginning, this is only the introduction of this journey. I am so excited for things that we’re going to discuss and the individuals that are going to be part of this conversation. Welcome to Walking the Way. Again, this is Dr. Carlos Quijada, and until next time, may the Lord bless you and may his peace be with you today and every day. Take care.