Growing in wisdom

Proverbs 4:10-27 ESV

Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.  I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.  When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.   Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.   Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.  Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.  For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.  For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.  But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.   The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.   My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.   Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.  For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.  Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.  Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.   Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.   Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.   Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Wisdom is about handling things well on a day to day basis. This doesn't seem like a big deal for the small day to day decisions. But life has a cumulative effect, a slow gradual change. So how do we go about this? We ask God. Pray. But wisdom isn't something you see growing in your life. So what then? Is the bible wrong? No, wisdom is not a door, it's a path, a journey, a way. It is a rigorous pursuit that requires active pursuit.

Proverbs 1:32 ESV

For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them;

Five requirements to gain wisdom

1 Actively embed God's word in your mind

Proverbs 4:10, 13 ESV

Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many...  Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

The word of God does not cover the everyday intricacies of life. But it does give broad strokes, it gives us a framework to start. This general set of guides help us to build a more wise way of living.

2 Listen to the word

Proverbs 4:20 ESV

My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.

We need to recognize that we are not all knowing. We should listen to the word for guidance. One of the ways that we can see our need for wisdom is a Johari window. It shows us that we don't know everything about ourselves... We all have blindspots.

But we must be careful. We must follow those who are chasing wisdom.

3 Look at your life with three types of sight: insight, foresight, and hindsight

We need to focus and concentrate on our lives. Look for deeper understanding in the situations around us.

Consider what is off in the future. Consider the consequences before doing something. What we do today will impact the future.

Look at our past and learn from our mistakes. We all make mistakes, but the wise learn from them.

Proverbs 26:11 ESV

Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.

4 Feet that follow even when following looks foolish

The path of wisdom can sometimes take us to places that look foolish. Painful and hard times will still come our way. This pain is not punishment; it is for us to learn and grow. It can reveal our hidden sin and issues. God does these things for our good.

5 A heart that is centered

What we desire most will determine what we will chase. It will determine what we use our insight, foresight, and feet for. If this is missing, none of the other four will matter. The wisdom that we learn is not solely for our benefit. It is for the glory of God. That is the driving desire for the Christian to seek out wisdom in our lives.

Get wisdom

Proverbs 3:13-18 ESV

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,   for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.  She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.   Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.  She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.

Proverbs 4:1-9 ESV

Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,  for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.  When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,  he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.   Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.  Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.   The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.  Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.  She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

Rev. Charles Han

The book of Proverbs is a contrast between wisdom and foolishness. Wisdom leads to life, honor, and riches. Foolishness leads to death, shame, and pain.

Wisdom's more precious than any gems, investment, real estate, or worldly wealth. We are to appraise it as of great worth. The Proverbs speak of how to get wisdom... We are to get wisdom.

How do we get it? Firstly, we must understand what wisdom is. It is not just deep thoughts. It is not just smarts. It is knowledge, expertise, and competence applied to everyday life. The law of the prophets is clear on the broad strokes of life, but not the everyday decisions of life. We are clear on loving our neighbor, but not how or when. A well intentioned action that is ill timed can backfire. That is why we need wisdom. A well lived Christian life should look like the woman in Proverbs 31. Her life should show resiliency, mercy, consistency, etc. That is what our lives should reflect. We should be able to handle the A-Z's of life well.

What do we aspire to? Pleasure? Comfort? Wealth? Power? Beauty? Do we seek out wisdom? Do we teach our children to chase after wisdom as the Proverbs exhort us?

Where does seeking wisdom begin? First, acknowledge our foolishness. We are called not to lean on our own understanding, but the Lord. Often this is applied to the far off future. But we need to see this in the day to day. Take a step back from our own wisdom. Seek after God's wisdom. We are to fear God. It is not a servantile fear; it is a child-like reverential respectful fear. In following Jesus, we trade our wisdom for God's foolishness. But God's foolishness is greater than man's wisdom. Consider this. Jesus is a workman who comes into our home. He first does small repairs. But then he starts tearing out parts of the house... It makes no sense. But we expected to have a nice small cottage... Jesus wants to make a palace
Such is our lives in His hands.