You don’t often hear someone calling another person wise these days. It seems as though we have replaced it with a slew of other adjectives such as smart, genius, intelligent, and many other terms and words. I want to share with you an interesting perspective on wisdom and becoming wise. This entire post will come out of Proverbs chapters 8 & 9 so if you haven’t read it or it’s been a while go ahead and get your Bible ready.
What is wisdom? Collins dictionary defines it as, “ The quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true and right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight”. But what does the Bible say wisdom is? The Bible says that wisdom is a being and more specifically a female. Proverbs chapter 8 clearly states this. Wisdom was also created before the Earth was formed (8:23) and she participated in creation as the architect at our Lord’s side(8:30). So wisdom is not an intangible object but it is something tangible that can be acquired.
I would like to think that most of us would like to be wise. Whether it’s in your business, your marriage, your family, or just navigating your personal finances. Wisdom in any of these areas could make a huge difference in your life. So how do we go about acquiring wisdom? That’s an interesting question because wisdom is actually a free gift and I believe that it is a gift from God that he shares with believers and non-believers. Proverbs 8:4 says,” I call to ALL of you” so wisdom is trying to impart her gift on us but why is it so hard to get?
Even though wisdom is given freely it is only usable when you have all of the components. It would be like me giving you a car with no keys and no tires, useless without all the pieces. So what are the missing puzzle pieces to acquire wisdom??? Knowledge and understanding. Again I believe that Proverbs chapter 8 lists understanding as another female being and I know that my opinion may differ from most but this is how it reads to me, Proverbs 8:1,” Hear as understanding raises her voice”. We know these are the missing pieces from 8:9,” my words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge”, but what does this look like?
I can count many times in my life where I was learning something new and difficult and these 3 things came into play. When I was 16 I began to learn how to fix dents on cars. First I learned the steps on how to fix the dent (knowledge) and then I applied those steps to a golf ball size dent on my 94 Ford Explorer. 4 hours later I was left with a now much larger dent that still wasn’t straightened out all the way. Something that would later take me 20 minutes was really kicking my butt. With more practice and more knowledge I began to gain understanding of the why we had to do each step and why we chose the tools that we used. I remember one day it finally hit me and I was gifted with understanding on how to fix dents. It was like someone flipped a switch and overnight my abilities skyrocketed. The more understanding I gained it eventually led to wisdom in this area and there wasn’t a dent I couldn’t tackle. These things did not happen overnight but progressed the more I would seek wisdom.
On a final note and to keep this from turning into a novel, I hope this short post helps you in your pursuit of wisdom. Just remember that “ Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10) we must have the foundation before we can start. First we seek knowledge, then understanding and wisdom follow. If you quit seeking you may never get the wisdom you desire. I believe that God wants you to have wisdom and wants you to benefit from it and he promises you will benefit from it (Proverbs 9:12) but beware of folly. She is out to keep you from gaining wisdom and keep you from its benefits (Proverbs 9:13-18). Too many people fall into her trap and stay there for far too long. I can’t urge you enough to read chapters 8 & 9, and then read them again, and then read them again, and then meditate on them, and then pray about them, and then pray about them some more. The entire book of Proverbs is filled with wisdom that is there for your taking and I hope you take this free gift God has given us. Thank you for reading and God bless!
