Would you consider yourself wise? Would others? I love sitting at the feet of those I presume to be wise and learning from them and their life experiences. Life is hard sometimes. The test comes before the lesson in many situations, so we need all the wisdom we can gain.
Matthew 11:19 says wisdom is proved right by its actions. Just the other day I read an article about a young girl who died in a car crash. She was going eighty miles per hour (I’ve never seen an eighty miles per hour speed limit sign) when she hit a truck. The irony of it all is she was sending a text message to a friend telling them she couldn’t text because it was dangerous. We can all sigh and say “teenagers” but how many times do we see adults doing the same or worse. We all could stand to gain a little more wisdom in our lives (and some of us need a lot).
Scripture tells us we should ask for wisdom. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” Proverbs 2:6 says, “For the LORD gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” The greatest place to gain wisdom and discernment is in the classroom of the secret place. It is through prayer and the study of God’s Word that the Lord downloads wisdom into our spirits. When we take time alone with Him, He reveals things to us we would not otherwise know [Jeremiah 33:3]. His desire is not to keep us from knowing these things, but for us to desire them enough we will seek them out. As my mama used to say, “Anything worth having is worth working for.” When you put effort into gaining wisdom, you treasure it and recognize it for the gift it is instead of flippantly casting it aside for some foolish pleasure.
King Solomon said in Proverbs 3:13, “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding,” and he was said to be the wisest man of all time. He was also blessed by every measure imaginable.
I remember when my son, Sam, was younger and not makings some of the wisest decisions. I did not want to see him walk down the path of foolishness and miss all God had for him. I had him write out many of the verses in Proverbs about wisdom and foolishness. He sat at his desk writing them for several days after school. When he finished, I had him read them back to me. To this day, he pulls from those scriptures when he is faced with decisions. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” [2 Timothy 3:16]. As we become students of the Word, we become wise.
So what do you think? Do you want to become a wise guy? If so, it’s time to crack open the Book and see what the Teacher has to say.