Faith Through the Journey

The book of Proverbs centers around the theme of Wisdom, much of it written by King Solomon, one of the wisest men that ever lived. When God asked him what he wanted God to give him, Solomon asked for wisdom. That being the case, the wisdom expressed in the book of Proverbs is that which God gave Solomon. We should listen carefully!

Proverbs 1:7 says: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” The word “fool” is more accurately interpreted as one who is morally deficient. Wisdom, then, is more than being intellectually smart. Wise is defined by Webster’s dictionary as “discerning and judging soundly concerning what is true or false, proper or improper; discreet.”  We NEED wisdom if we expect to make right decisions in our lives, and God’s wisdom will bring us the very best results. Thankfully, we don’t have to have a super intellect to gain wisdom. It is available for the taking, IF we are willing to ask. Proverbs 1:20-33 says: “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech: ‘How long will you simple ones (those without moral direction and inclined to evil) love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hare knowledge? If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster, I will mock when calamity overtakes you–when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm.'” 

Wisdom, God’s wisdom, is freely available to everyone who asks. Those who are considered “foolish” and “simple”, those are morally deficient, who have no moral direction and are inclined to evil, seem to choose not to take advantage of godly wisdom. They choose instead to make their own decisions based on their own knowledge, and will most likely crash and burn at some point. Navigating the complicated world in which we live without godly wisdom will end in eternal demise, pride standing in the way of depending on God’s wisdom. It requires a humbling of ourselves, of recognizing that even with the best of our own wisdom and knowledge, we still need God’s direction and help in finding our way in a world increasingly hostile to Him. To have both courage and humility might seem a strange combination of character traits, but they are both required to be ready to receive the wisdom for living that God will freely give to anyone who asks Him. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).