"W" Is For Wisdom

Did you ever suffer from “Foot in Mouth Disease?”  I think if we’re honest, all of us would have to admit that at some time or other we’ve said the wrong thing at the wrong time. 

Ever berate yourself for doing something stupid?  Yes.

Ever make a wrong decision?  Yes.

Ever wish those words could fly back into your mouth, like running a video backwards, then destroy the tape and erase the memory of it from your mind and the minds of those who heard it?  Yep.

Ever wish you could “un-eat” something you’ve eaten?  Yes.

What exactly is wisdom?  Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines it as “Knowledge; the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships; insight; good sense; judgment; wise attitude or course of action.”  

I define wisdom as the ability to use knowledge in a wise way.

So how do we get wisdom?  James 1:5 says “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given him.”

In Proverbs 4, Solomon recounts how, as a young boy of tender age, his father David and his mother Bathsheba instructed him in getting wisdom.  Solomon repeats his father’s instruction and the benefits of wisdom:

• She will protect you
• She will watch over you
• She will exalt you
• She will honor you
• Wisdom will set a garland of grace on your head
• Wisdom will present you with a crown of splendor
• Wisdom will cause the years of your life to be many
• You will be led along straight paths
• Your steps will not be hampered
• You will not stumble

Don’t we want those things for our children?  Of course we do.  There is nothing as important in life as teaching our children the Word of God.  As long as we try to figure things out for ourselves without consulting God, we’ll end up going nowhere fast.  We will not live the abundant life Jesus died to give us. (John 10:10)

Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, had the humility of heart to ask God for wisdom, and God gave it to him in abundance.  Not only that, God gave him what he didn’t ask for: riches, honor, and long life.  (I Kings 3:12-14)

 

In I Kings 4:20 we read, “The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy,” and “all Judah and Israel lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree” during Solomon’s successful reign.

How wonderful it would be to live in a nation like that!  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord!” (Psalm 33:12)

We read further in the same chapter, “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.  Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.  He was wiser than any other man… And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.  He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five.  He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls.  He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish.  Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.”

Education owes a debt of gratitude to Solomon!

Architecture and building trades owe him a debt of gratitude as well. (See I Kings 6 and 7.)

However, over time, Solomon forgot to obey his own writings about wisdom given him from the Lord.  He didn’t guard the Word of God in his heart.  It appears he had an uncontrolled sexual appetite. 

In I Kings 11:1-4 we read these words: “King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.  They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, ‘You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.’  Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.  He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.  As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” 

What an inexpressibly sad ending to Solomon’s life.

We would do well to study and heed the book of Proverbs in the Bible. The purpose and theme for Proverbs from chapter 1 is:

 

·         For attaining wisdom and discipline

·         For understanding words of insight

·         For acquiring a disciplined and prudent life

·         For doing what is right and just and fair

·         For giving knowledge to the simple

·         To give knowledge and discretion to the young

·         That the wise would listen and add to their learning

·         That the discerning may get guidance

·         To understand proverbs and parables

·         To understand the sayings and riddles of the wise

Proverbs 3:14-18 says, “…she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.  She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.  Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.  Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.” 

Proverbs 9:10 tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Who can know what possible inventions or contributions you or your children could make to our society if you ask God for wisdom and begin to live by the wisdom already found in the book of Proverbs?

As we celebrate Father’s Day this weekend, I pray that all dads will walk in the wisdom of Jesus, for He said, “A greater one than Solomon is here.”  (Matthew 12:42)   

Wisdom is a wonderful life!  Wisdom is Jesus! 

*All scriptures are from the NIV translation of the Bible.

Copyright © 2013 Elaine Beachy