“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”
(Proverbs 1:7)
Suppose for a moment that God appeared to you and said, “You can have anything you want. I’ll grant you one wish.” What would you ask for? Riches? Pleasure? Fame? Power? Possessions? A new house? A new spouse? What would be your one request?
A guy in the Bible actually had that opportunity. In I Kings 3, God told Solomon he could have one wish. Solomon didn’t ask for riches or fame or power; instead, he asked for wisdom. God granted Solomon his request and he became the wisest man who ever lived. He wrote three books in the Bible, including Proverbs. There, Solomon shares much of his wisdom with the whole world, including us.
A proverb is a short, pithy saying that provides practical guidance in life. Or, we could define it as “a saying with a punch.” For instance, here are a few familiar proverbs from our own culture…
- An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
- A penny saved is a penny earned.
- Look before you leap.
Short. Simple. Catchy. But, profound! That’s a proverb. For the rest of the summer, we will be studying several themes in the book of Proverbs during our worship services. I’ve entitled the series, “How to be a Wise Guy” – not a smart aleck, but a true wise guy. We’ll be examining some of Solomon’s practical wisdom for everyday living.
I want to encourage you to read the book of Proverbs this summer. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, so if you read a chapter a day, you can read the entire book twice during the months of July & August. Go for it. You just might find some real nuggets of wisdom for your own life.
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are an omniscient and all-wise God.
That means You know what is best for my life.
Thank you sharing Your wisdom and guidance in Your Word.
May I be faithful in reading and applying Your Word in my life.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
June 26, 2009 at 5:21 am |
Obviously, he must have been pretty wise in the first place to even think about asking for wisdom. Most people would probably think to ask for wealth thinking that would solve all the problems they have.
Asking for wisdom if you think about it should be at the top of our list if we were going to ask for something, because with wisdom in all areas of your life you would save yourself from many problems. Wisdom in your finances would keep you out of debt. Wisdom in your marriage would keep you married and happily married. Wisdom in your spiritual life would keep you on the right track with God. Wisdom in parenting would keep you from making mistakes with your children and would in turn make them wiser by showing them correct choices.
I never really thought about wisdom like this before, or on that level. Thanks for the insight and a great e-votional.