Wisdom

One of the most valuable commodities an individual can acquire, outside of salvation, is wisdom. The sad truth is that wisdom is in such high demand, yet in very short supply. We look around our society and must ask, “What in the world are people thinking?” 

We as followers of Jesus are called to be wise people. You may ask the question: how do we receive this wisdom? There is an answer to that question in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” When we look around at some of the foolishness that is displayed in our world, it can be attributed to ungodliness. It seems people desire to make decisions with their ideas and knowledge instead of seeking the One who has all the knowledge and wisdom.

I enjoy the book of Proverbs because it speaks clearly about those who seek and are wise and those who do not seek wisdom at all. The writer of Proverbs writes as if he is wisdom itself and speaks on wisdom’s behalf. We see this in Proverbs 8:35-36, “For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from the Lord. But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death.” We can see how simple this is spoken. Wisdom is life, those who do not desire wisdom find death.

I don’t think I know anyone who wants to be known as being unwise, or dumb, but somehow many fit that bill. Why is that? Because man has decided not to follow God, to seek Him. For those who do chapter 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

It is amazing to me that our society does not want godly men and women in political positions. It’s almost as if we desire to be and stay stupid. As we come to another election in just a few months we need to ask, “Which candidate not only verbally speaks of God, but whose decisions and life choices reflect Him? You may say, “I don’t see that in any of our candidates.” We must then wonder why that is. Have we become so comfortable with darkness that we would rather keep voting for the foolish or will we as followers of Christ vote for those who love Jesus and are not ashamed of Him?

I close with the challenge that the need for wisdom begins with the family. We must have parents who will raise their children according to the scriptures. When mom and dad live lives of godly wisdom there is a great chance that their children will grow up to desire that same godly wisdom. Seek the Lord daily and have a healthy fear of Him for that is truly the beginning of wisdom.