The Beginning of Knowledge
1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
Proverbs 1:1-6 (ESV)
Saturday I received a text from our small group leader at church that an emergency had come up and he needed me to teach the lesson on Sunday. Even though I had not looked at the lesson during the week, I agreed to teach the next day. As is usually the case, I learned as much or more than the people in the class.
As a consequence of preparing for a lesson on Proverbs, I have completely readjusted my ideas concerning wisdom. Previous to this lesson, I had prayed for wisdom on occasion, but these times were connected with specific events in my live. The purchase of a house, an incident at work, investment decisions. My wisdom prayers would focus on an event or decision that was encased in a specific time frame or a specific object.
My personal revelation was that wisdom is a lifestyle. It is a quality/trait/habit/mindset/blessing that permeates all we do each day. How we interact with people. What we do with our time. How we spend our money. Each day wisdom is called for dozens of times.
To pray for wisdom when a major decision arises, while not foolish, is perhaps a bit presumptive. I cannot imagine an Olympic athlete expecting to run his/her best race if the only training they did happened one week prior to the race. Our desire and prayers for wisdom should be daily. Whether we are buying a house or merely visiting with friends, God's wants to give us the wisdom so that all we do each day will glorify His name and allow us to reflect His love and goodness to those in our sphere.
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