The Importance of Wisdom
Proverbs is probably the book I have the most trouble sitting down to read. There are so many great gems of insight contained in it; I listed some verses that caught my eye below. But it seems that whenever I read the proverbs I am convicted of what I am not doing right, smh. I tend to over-spiritualize life, thinking that my spiritual salvation in Christ is all that is necessary for a full life in God. But Proverbs is filled with hard, practical truths that force us to face our physical reality; they remind us that we live in a world where understanding of it is necessary for success. While the Proverbs are sometimes painful and challenging to read, it is good medicine for us. They train us out of the foolish and ultimately harmful patterns of life that we held to before meeting Christ. They teach us how to deal with people, the dangers of temptation and how to conduct ourselves in a manner that is pleasing to God. I hope that we will read these with a humble attitude that is willing to conform to God's truth, leaving the old ways of folly and sin for something far better.
"The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began." - Prov 8:22-23
"My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver." - Prov 8:19
"Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies and nothing you desire can compare with her." - Prov 8:10-11
"...and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones." - Prov 2:4-8
Clearly wisdom is something that God used in fashioning the universe including our world. It is good and leads us to the knowledge of our Creator. As Christians, sometimes we have a negative view attaining knowledge; we tend to look down on it, reasoning that it only 'puffs' people up. But from Proverbs we learn that attaining wisdom should be an integral part of our lives. The authors says that when we search for wisdom we come to understand the fear of the LORD. When we realize that wisdom comes from God and we seek to attain it, we learn how awesome, wise and marvelous God is. We come to have a deeper appreciation and respect for who God is when we catch a glimpse of his ingenious design and intentions for the universe and our personal existence. Through my time in college and in research I have gained a deeper appreciation for how complex God's creation is. I recently used a computer program to solve a simple equation for crack propagation and the solution turned out to be 133 pages long! God's ingenuity in creation is simply astounding. If we understand that wisdom is something that should lead us to God, not to be wielded for our own selfish purposes, then we can view attaining it in a healthy way. Wikipedia defines wisdom as:
a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding.
God wants to give us wisdom because it will help us to interact with the people and the world around us in a healthy and productive manner. A perfect case in point of this is the example of Solomon in yesterday's reading. Through his life, we can clearly see the fruit of the wisdom that God had given him. He ushered in the golden age of Israel. He understood the people and the times and thus could be used by God to represent Israel as a shining beacon on which God's favor rested. Israel could be a light to the Gentiles, so to speak. When the Queen of Sheba witnessed the splendor of Solomon's kingdom, her response was to praise Yahweh, the God of Israel. In the same way, through wisdom, we too can be a light shining in an otherwise darkened world. Through our own attainment of wisdom, we can walk the straight paths of a righteous and holy life, delighting in what is right and good. As we reflect this light to world, we spread the fame of God throughout the nations. In short, we come to know our Creator on a deeper level in addition to serving his purpose when we pursue knowledge and understanding.
What are your thoughts on wisdom? How does it play a part in your daily life?
Proverbs is probably the book I have the most trouble sitting down to read. There are so many great gems of insight contained in it; I listed some verses that caught my eye below. But it seems that whenever I read the proverbs I am convicted of what I am not doing right, smh. I tend to over-spiritualize life, thinking that my spiritual salvation in Christ is all that is necessary for a full life in God. But Proverbs is filled with hard, practical truths that force us to face our physical reality; they remind us that we live in a world where understanding of it is necessary for success. While the Proverbs are sometimes painful and challenging to read, it is good medicine for us. They train us out of the foolish and ultimately harmful patterns of life that we held to before meeting Christ. They teach us how to deal with people, the dangers of temptation and how to conduct ourselves in a manner that is pleasing to God. I hope that we will read these with a humble attitude that is willing to conform to God's truth, leaving the old ways of folly and sin for something far better.
"The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began." - Prov 8:22-23
"My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver." - Prov 8:19
"Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies and nothing you desire can compare with her." - Prov 8:10-11
"...and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones." - Prov 2:4-8
Clearly wisdom is something that God used in fashioning the universe including our world. It is good and leads us to the knowledge of our Creator. As Christians, sometimes we have a negative view attaining knowledge; we tend to look down on it, reasoning that it only 'puffs' people up. But from Proverbs we learn that attaining wisdom should be an integral part of our lives. The authors says that when we search for wisdom we come to understand the fear of the LORD. When we realize that wisdom comes from God and we seek to attain it, we learn how awesome, wise and marvelous God is. We come to have a deeper appreciation and respect for who God is when we catch a glimpse of his ingenious design and intentions for the universe and our personal existence. Through my time in college and in research I have gained a deeper appreciation for how complex God's creation is. I recently used a computer program to solve a simple equation for crack propagation and the solution turned out to be 133 pages long! God's ingenuity in creation is simply astounding. If we understand that wisdom is something that should lead us to God, not to be wielded for our own selfish purposes, then we can view attaining it in a healthy way. Wikipedia defines wisdom as:
a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding.
God wants to give us wisdom because it will help us to interact with the people and the world around us in a healthy and productive manner. A perfect case in point of this is the example of Solomon in yesterday's reading. Through his life, we can clearly see the fruit of the wisdom that God had given him. He ushered in the golden age of Israel. He understood the people and the times and thus could be used by God to represent Israel as a shining beacon on which God's favor rested. Israel could be a light to the Gentiles, so to speak. When the Queen of Sheba witnessed the splendor of Solomon's kingdom, her response was to praise Yahweh, the God of Israel. In the same way, through wisdom, we too can be a light shining in an otherwise darkened world. Through our own attainment of wisdom, we can walk the straight paths of a righteous and holy life, delighting in what is right and good. As we reflect this light to world, we spread the fame of God throughout the nations. In short, we come to know our Creator on a deeper level in addition to serving his purpose when we pursue knowledge and understanding.
What are your thoughts on wisdom? How does it play a part in your daily life?
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