Wisdom

We know that education is essential in getting out of the slums, and we also know that a high score on placement exams does not transform the human heart. Without Jesus, the more we know, the sadder we become. But with Jesus, we can use the gift of knowledge to worship and honor him all our days under the sun.

Solomon forgot that all his wisdom came as a gift from God (1 Kings 3:11-12). Solomon said that he was wiser than kings before him. Remember, he followed King David—the standard-bearer for all Israel’s kings.

Godly wisdom gives you the discernment to check your heart and actions first. Godly wisdom allows you to live with an eternal perspective. Godly wisdom is not paralyzed with a “What’s this world coming to?” attitude but is energized by allowing God to grow us into those who demonstrate what it looks like to serve him. We can’t change the world, but we can ask God to change our hearts! 

But as he observed humanity and their busy pace, he found that just like the sun chased its tail, so people chased theirs. Things “done under heaven” become the same ole same ole. We just keep running on the “treadmill of our existence.”

Wisdom is an excellent tool for human progress but not the answer to the human problem. Sin has separated us from God and left a significant hole in our inner being. Wisdom allows us to live longer and more comfortably but cannot fill the God-shaped void deep within.

The proverb bluntly says, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool.” But when you walk in the wisdom of God and his Word, you will save yourself from some devastating decisions. 

So, when we read in Scripture that we should live in fear of the Lord, it means that we are to live in awe and respect for our heavenly Father, who demonstrated his great love to us by sending his Son to die for our sins. We live in awe of his love, his greatness, and his power. 

To live a life that is spiritually healthy, our heavenly Father must always be at the head of the line. We must jettison our own wants and desires and live in obedience to him. True wisdom begins when we embrace both God and his instruction. Only our heavenly Father always knows best.

In today’s passage, wisdom (personified) cries out in the noisy streets and reminds all who will listen that she is willing and ready to pour out her spirit to all who will listen and respond to her correction. But to those who reject her, terror will strike them “like a storm” and calamity will sweep over them “like a whirlwind” (Proverbs 1:27).