“Young men, listen to me as you would to your father. Listen, and grow wise, for I speak the truth—don’t turn away. For I, too, was once a son, tenderly loved by my mother as an only child, and the companion of my father. He told me never to forget his words. “If you follow them,” he said, “you will have a long and happy life. Learn to be wise,” he said, “and develop good judgment and common sense! I cannot overemphasize this point.” Cling to wisdom—she will protect you. Love her—she will guard you. Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And with your wisdom, develop common sense and good judgment. If you exalt wisdom, she will exalt you. Hold her fast, and she will lead you to great honor; she will place a beautiful crown upon your head.” Proverbs 4: 1-9 TLB
We all need wisdom for our daily existence. As human beings, we have to take decisions everyday. Some can be as simple as the clothes to wear for the day or as complex as life changing decisions that can move a man forward. We all have choices to make and need the wisdom to make the right decisions.
There are several everyday sayings that are actually nuggets of wisdom that can guide a man in decision making. Some include sayings as:
“Look before you leap”.
“A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.”
“Strike while the iron is hot”.
“Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”
These are actually telling us to use wisdom in our design making.
The Bible is a book of Wisdom. It is not only full of examples of words of wisdom, it also has a great number of characters that exemplify wisdom. The Book of Proverbs in the Bible is also called the “Book of Wisdom, and is believed to have been written by King Solomon, the wisest person God created It has several examples of what happens when a person uses wisdom and what happens to the foolish.
Wisdom is often depicted as a woman who gives advice on daily living. In Proverbs 1:20-28:
“She calls out to the crowds along Main Street, and to the judges in their courts, and to everyone in all the land: Wisdom shouts in the streets for a hearing. “You simpletons!” she cries. “How long will you go on being fools? How long will you scoff at wisdom and fight the facts? Come here and listen to me! I’ll pour out the spirit of wisdom upon you and make you wise. I have called you so often, but still you won’t come. I have pleaded, but all in vain. For you have spurned my counsel and reproof. Some day you’ll be in trouble, and I’ll laugh! Mock me, will you?—I’ll mock you! When a storm of terror surrounds you, and when you are engulfed by anguish and distress, then I will not answer your cry for help. It will be too late though you search for me ever so anxiously.” TLB
One of the best examples of Peer pressure on young people and the effects of yielding to bad advice from bad friends is found in Proverbs 1:10-19:
“If young toughs tell you, “Come and join us”—turn your back on them! “We’ll hide and rob and kill,” they say. And the loot we’ll get! All kinds of stuff! “Good or bad, we’ll treat them all alike. Come on, throw in your lot with us; we’ll split with you in equal shares.” Don’t do it, son! Stay far from men like that, for crime is their way of life, and murder is their specialty. When a bird sees a trap being set, it stays away, but not these men; they trap themselves! They lay a booby trap for their own lives. Such is the fate of all who live by violence and murder. They will die a violent death.” TLB
There’re are two types of Wisdom. There is Godly Wisdom and Worldly Wisdom.
In James 3:17-18, we see examples of Godly wisdom:
“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness.” TLB
On the other hand, Worldly wisdom comes from human knowledge. In James 3:14-16:
“And by all means don’t brag about being wise and good if you are bitter and jealous and selfish; that is the worst sort of lie. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, inspired by the devil. For wherever there is jealousy or selfish ambition, there will be disorder and every other kind of evil.” TLB
The Bible has several examples of men and women who lived and displayed wisdom. The most obvious is King Solomon, the son of King David. When he had sacrificed 1000 bulls as an offering, God was very pleased with him, because no-one had ever offered so much sacrifice to God. At night, God appeared to him in a dream and asked him for what he wanted. King Solomon asked for wisdom to rule the nation that God had placed in his care.
This impressed God so much that he made him the wisest person on earth. King Solomon displayed this in the court decisions he gave, and in the other daily decisions that he took. People travelled from far and near to hear him talk and they marveled at his wisdom. However, towards the end of his reign, King Solomon began to apply worldly wisdom by having 300 wives and 700 concubines! In the end, God was not pleased with him, and his son Rehoboam who succeeded him lost 10 tribes of Israel to another man, Jeroboam and was left with just two tribes.
By wisdom, Joseph refused to lie with Potiphar’s wife, and that single decision was what led him to the palace. Yes, he went through a lot of adversity, but at the end of the day, he was promoted and became the Prime Minister in Egypt. Not only that, but he was also promoted above Potiphar and his wife, as they became subordinate to the slave boy they purchased from the Ishmaelites. Also, his wise choice placed him above his brothers who had sold him into slavery out of envy and jealousy.
By wisdom, Rahab the prostitute saved her family from destruction by helping the spies sent to Jericho by Joshua. She hid the spies in the roof of her house, and later lowered them down by a rope at night. God showed her mercy and became one of the ancestors of King David and Jesus Christ.
By wisdom, Daniel was a slave boy living in exile in Babylon, and his wisdom and understanding made him a Governor in Babylon.
By wisdom, Abigail was able to save her household from the wrath and destruction of David, when her husband Nabal refused to extend hospitality to David after he had helped Nabal’s workers safeguard his livestock and workers.
By wisdom, Esther, a servant girl became the Queen of an empire and persuaded the King to save the lives of her people who had been condemned to death because of the hatred of Haman the Agagite.
By wisdom, Apostle Paul wrote in 1 and 2 Corinthians about the folly of pride and arrogance, lust for power and divisions in the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 1: 27-28, he writes:
“Notice among yourselves, dear brothers, that few of you who follow Christ have big names or power or wealth. Instead, God has deliberately chosen to use ideas the world considers foolish and of little worth in order to shame those people considered by the world as wise and great. He has chosen a plan despised by the world, counted as nothing at all, and used it to bring down to nothing those the world considers great, so that no one anywhere can ever brag in the presence of God.” TLB
Finally, where can we get the wisdom that we need for daily living? Is it to be found in reading books and doing a lot of research?
The answer is found in James 1:5:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” NIV
We close today in the words of the Preacher in the Book of Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14:
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” NIV
Invitation to Salvation.
Jesus is calling you today. He is saying to you:
“Come to me all who are tired from carrying your heavy loads and I will give you rest”. Mathew 11:28
If you want to accept this invitation, pray to God. You can say something like this:
“Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. I confess my sins before you today. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I want to know you personally.I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in and be my Lord and personal Savior.Take control of my life.Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life.Make me the kind of person that you want me to be. In Jesus name I have prayed. Amen.”
If you have sincerely put your trust in Jesus to be your Savior, welcome to the household of God!
