Acquiring Wisdom
Proverbs 4: 20 – 27; “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thime eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. put away from thee a forward mouth, and perverse lips put afar from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”
The most obvious source of godly wisdom is the Bible. You cannot think of a question of life circumstance about which God’s Word is silent. His principles for right character, conduct, and conversation apply to every situation and decision confronting human beings.
We’re all able to recall times when we didn’t respond wisely. Those incidents can be traced back to one of two possibilities – either we didn’t know a certain biblical principle or we knew the principle that applied but chose to ignore or violate it. To ensure that we are familiar with God’s standards and the importance of following them, we’re got to dig into His Word.
For example, suppose that you walk into the office and a coworker verbally assaults you with underserved blame for a costly mistake. Your flesh and the world would have you respond in kind with anger and malice. But Luke 6: 27 – 29 offers a different approach, that might go something like this: “Is there anything else? Thank you for telling me how you feel.”
Knowledge comes from learning biblical principles, wisdom has to do with applying them. The Lord cautions us to keep His Word in our heart and in our heads so that we will heed His instructions.
Wisdom is acquired as we pursue the Christian life – absorbing Scripture, doing what it says, and observing the result, which is for our good even when consequences appear less than favorable. Special classes aren’t required; God simply wants obedient hearts and a willing spirit.