Tag: Wisdom

Warning sign for high cliffs and changing weather near a man with headphones by the ocean

Learning from the Hard Way

Leave a comment

“Since I called out and you refused, extended my hand and no one paid attention, since you neglected all my counsel and did not accept my correction, I, in turn, will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when trouble and stress overcome you. Then they will call me, but I won’t answer; they will search for me, but won’t find me. Because they hated knowledge, didn’t choose to fear the Lord, were not interested in my counsel, and rejected all my correction, they will eat the fruit of their way and be glutted with their own schemes.” (Proverbs 1:24-31 CSB – Read the chapter)

There’s an old saying about the fury of a scorned lover. When you get all caught up with another person and they reject your advances, the resultant grief will often manifest as a particularly potent form of anger. Through the opening chapters of Proverbs, wisdom is personified as a woman who is eagerly seeking out the company of those who will receive her. She wants to be found and embraced. She wants for her words to be heeded, and for her lovers to enjoy all the sweet fruits that come from a deep and abiding relationship with her. If her advances are rejected, though, all of that passion reverses its direction, and our rejection of her will be matched on at least equal terms. In other words, if we don’t like wisdom, we’ll get what’s coming to us. Let’s talk about it.

Read the rest…
Woman reading from a scroll to a crowd in a historic market street

Seeking Wisdom: A Call to Action

Leave a comment

“Wisdom calls out in the street; she makes her voice heard in the public squares. She cries out above the commotion; she speaks at the entrance of the city gates: “How long, inexperienced ones, will you love ignorance? How long will you mockers enjoy mocking and you fools hate knowledge? If you respond to my warning, then I will pour out my spirit on you and teach you my words.” (Proverbs 1:20-23 CSB – Read the chapter)

How does one find wisdom? Many people might answer that question by pointing to experience. If we just live long enough, eventually we’ll accumulate some wisdom as we go. If we encounter enough different situations, wisdom will be the natural result. And that sounds like it could be true except that there are old people who are still fools, and busy people who don’t seem to have learned a thing from all they’ve done. No, the truth is that wisdom doesn’t come naturally. It must be sought on purpose. Thankfully, as much as we might be seeking it – seeking her to use the personification wisdom receives in Proverbs – she is seeking us too. We just have to listen. The last big section of Proverbs 1 talks about wisdom’s efforts to call us to her. We’re going to break this down into three parts and take a look at each in turn. Let’s dive in.

Read the rest…
Young man standing at a rural crossroads with hooded figures pointing at him

Avoiding a Dangerous Road

Leave a comment

“My son, if sinners entice you, don’t be persuaded. If they say—“Come with us! Let’s set an ambush and kill someone. Let’s attack some innocent person just for fun! Let’s swallow them alive, like Sheol, whole, like those who go down to the Pit. We’ll find all kinds of valuable property and fill our houses with plunder. Throw in your lot with us, and we’ll all share the loot”—my son, don’t travel that road with them or set foot on their path, because their feet run toward evil and they hurry to shed blood. It is useless to spread a net where any bird can see it, but they set an ambush to kill themselves; they attack their own lives. Such are the paths of all who make profit dishonestly; it takes the lives of those who receive it.” (Proverbs 1:10-19 CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the things the Scriptures are pretty clear that we shouldn’t mess around with is temptation. We sometimes imagine that resisting temptation is like a muscle. The more we do it, the stronger our ability to resist it gets. I’m not so sure, and the authors of the Scriptures (who were inspired by God) seem to agree. The apostle Paul doesn’t tell us to resist temptation or fight against it, he tells us to flee from it. Run away. Do not engage. Don’t test it to see how long you can hold out. Hightail it in the other direction. That doesn’t make you a coward, it makes you wise. How do I know? Because the very first bit of wise counsel we are given in Proverbs has to do with staying away from temptation. Let’s take a look.

Read the rest…
Woman looking thoughtfully at a trophy labeled achievement beside an open book

Winning in Life: The Power of Listening to Wisdom

Leave a comment

“Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching, for they will be a garland of favor on your head and pendants around your neck.” (Proverbs 1:8-9 CSB – Read the chapter)

It’s fun to win. Winners get trophies and medals and certificates and awards. You can display those where people can see them and know that you won, that you were awesome. They are tangible proof that you accomplished something good or even great. Yes, in a culture that gives participation trophies, winning becomes diluted to the point that no one cares quite as much about it as they once did, but by that kind of progressive, make-everyone-feel-good thinking can’t erase our desire to win entirely. We want to win. Well, Solomon here tells us a way we can win in life. Let’s check out what it is.

REad the rest…
Person standing on a rocky mountain looking at the star-filled night sky with the Milky Way visible

Humility and Knowledge: Discovering Real Truth

Leave a comment

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever known something that turned out not to be true? You were as sure as the world that you had your facts straight until you learned beyond any shadow of doubt that you didn’t. Did you really know it at all? Can you know something that isn’t true? That’s a far more difficult philosophical question to answer than it perhaps seems. All true knowledge is rooted in a foundation of truth. If something doesn’t correspond with reality, we can’t really know it. This means that all knowledge starts with knowing the source of reality. Let’s talk about it.

Read the rest…