The proverbs of Solomon, son of David and king of Israel. Here are proverbs that will help you recognize wisdom and good advice, and understand sayings with deep meaning.—Proverbs 1:1-2 GNT
I recently started going through the book of Proverbs (again!). The first few chapters place a lot of emphasis on wisdom—finding it, valuing it, and most of all yielding to it. In the introduction in chapter 1, it says that these proverbs can help recognise wisdom and furthermore: “They can teach you how to live intelligently and how to be honest, just, and fair. They can make an inexperienced person clever and teach young people how to be resourceful. These proverbs can even add to the knowledge of the wise and give guidance to the educated.” Proverbs 1:3-5 (GNT)
Being educated to the highest level and having loads of knowledge doesn’t make a person wise. If that were the case, with all the knowledgeable people in the world today, it should be a better place. Some people aren’t highly educated but are wise and know how to apply what they know in life. Also, wisdom isn’t about wealth and riches. We know some rich and wealthy people lack wisdom, judging from their actions and words.
To attain wisdom, the book of Proverbs tells us where to start: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Proverbs 2:10 (ESV)
This is good news for those who know God, as it is a good stepping stone or foundation. However, it is just the foundation; what really matters is how we build on it. Being a Christian from a young age doesn’t mean that I’ve always made wise decisions; far from it! And I’ve seen many do the same. These unwise actions show up in various ways, like spending decisions, spoken words, dealings with family issues and relationships, and the things we choose to do or not do.
This might have been the reason why Peter, in his message to the early believers, encouraged them by saying: “…make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” 2 Peter 1:5-7 (ESV)
As Christians, we will sometimes get it wrong; we won’t always act with wisdom, and that’s fine. Even the wisest man that ever lived, King Solomon, made unwise decisions. However, our God knows our humanity and shortcomings and has provided everything we need to walk in wisdom: His Word (the Bible), the Holy Spirit and a community of believers to support each other. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1:3 (ESV)
So, let’s commit to using all that God has provided us with to live a life of wisdom.
Stay blessed,
LaraLex
