Category: Morning Musings

Woman arranging a floral centerpiece on an elegantly set dinner table

The Party Is Ready for You

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“Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out her seven pillars. She has prepared her meat; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her female servants; she calls out from the highest points of the city: ‘Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!’ To the one who lacks sense, she says, “Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave inexperience behind, and you will live; pursue the way of understanding.” (Proverbs‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭CSB – Read the chapter) ‬‬

Have you ever been to someone’s house who clearly wasn’t expecting you? Nothing was prepared. The house wasn’t clean. Nothing about the place communicated that they were prepared for you or even wanted you there. Now, contrast that with a time you went to someone’s house who clearly was expecting you. There, everything was ready. You were clearly on their mind. They made all their plans around your being there. That felt good. Solomon tells us that wisdom is a good host like this. As much as we need to be searching for wisdom, she is planning on us finding her. Let’s not disappoint.

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Woman holding coffee and phone beside jar labeled COMMUNITY FUND

The Secret to Real Happiness

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“And now, sons, listen to me; those who keep my ways are happy. Listen to instruction and be wise; don’t ignore it. Anyone who listens to me is happy, watching at my doors every day, waiting by the posts of my doorway. For the one who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but the one who misses me harms himself; all who hate me love death.” (Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭32‬-‭36‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

We live in a world that constantly tells us we should be happy. All the time. If there is something about our circumstances that is making us not happy, we should change them, or at least get out of them. Happiness is always the goal. I even have a throw pillow somewhere in my house that says so. With little bees on it. Get it? All of this happiness is supposed to lead to our best life now. It even has a hashtag. The trouble is, the methods our culture offers to get us to that goal rarely work for long. Solomon offers us a way to get there that is much more reliable. Let’s talk about it.

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Luminous spiral galaxy surrounded by colorful nebulae and stars

The Wisdom of Creation

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“The Lord acquired me at the beginning of his creation, before his works of long ago. I was formed before ancient times, from the beginning, before the earth began. I was born when there were no watery depths and no springs filled with water. Before the mountains were established, prior to the hills, I was given birth—before he made the land, the fields, or the first soil on earth. I was there when he established the heavens, when he laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean, when he placed the skies above, when the fountains of the ocean gushed out, when he set a limit for the sea so that the waters would not violate his command, when he laid out the foundations of the earth. I was a skilled craftsman beside him. I was his delight every day, always rejoicing before him. I was rejoicing in his inhabited world, delighting in the children of Adam.” (Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭22‬-‭31‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

One of the more common slang words for something old is to refer to it as “OG.” That’s technically short for “original gangster.” The phrase came out the urban hip hop culture as a way to establish something as authentic and real. Today it gets thrown around all over the place as a way simply to refer to things that are old or otherwise authentic. Well, when it comes to creation itself, it’s hard to imagine something more authentic and original than wisdom. Let’s talk about how Solomon describes it here.

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Split scene showing an elderly scholar in a library and a young executive in a modern office

The Real Wealth of Wisdom

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“With me are riches and honor, lasting wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than solid gold, and my harvest than pure silver. I walk in the ways of righteousness, along the paths of justice, giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.” (Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Do you want to be rich? Who doesn’t? Sure, you may be able to find someone here or there who will claim they are perfectly content where they are, but I suspect just about all of us could think of what to do with a sudden and great infusion of wealth—and I don’t just mean charities you would support. And yet, it is true that there are many ways to be rich, not all of which have anything to do with the volume of physical resources you control. Every single one of these manifold of ways, though, has one thing in common: they all start with wisdom. Let’s talk about it.

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Scholar writing notes beside books and a globe in a historic library

Many for the Price of One

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“I, wisdom, share a home with shrewdness and have knowledge and discretion. To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech. I possess good advice and sound wisdom; I have understanding and strength. It is by me that kings reign and rulers enact just law; by me, princes lead, as do nobles and all righteous judges. I love those who love me, and those who search for me find me.” (Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭12‬-‭17‬ ‭CSB – Read the chapter) ‬‬

One of the ways businesses try to increase their bottom line is by selling things in sets. Product B is good, but it really only works at its maximum potential if you also have Product A with it. Of course, if you purchase Product A, Products C, D, and E will also work better. Product A is the thing that ties them all together and completes the set. Wisdom and its fruits are like that. The fruits are all good, but if you try to acquire them independently of wisdom, they won’t work as well. Let’s talk about this as Solomon tells us about some of wisdom’s accompaniments.

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