Seven Pillars Of Wisdom

To be prudent is to think ahead. It is to anticipate. Being prudent is to be prepared. I thought that was pretty cool since I am into Emergency Preparedness and lead an action group in the local Tea Party that deals with it.

When you read Proverbs you read quite a bit of stuff on being prepared and looking ahead. One of my favorite verses on the subject says,

“The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools devours all they have.”

Proverbs 21:20

It is wise to be prudent. It is wise to plan ahead. It is wise to give careful thought to what lies ahead – and prepare for it. Wisdom is built on prudence.

Wisdom is also built on, 2. Knowledge and discretion. Knowledge is accumulating information. It is learning. But discretion is not usually associated with knowledge. Discretion is, according to the dictionary,

“The power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment; freedom of judgment or choice. EXAMPLE : “It is entirely within my discretion whether I will go or stay.”

I think wisdom is built on using your discretion to accumulate knowledge. The wise person makes it happen. The wise person goes to school, college, take classes, and/or studies at home. We need to keep growing; we need to keep learning; we need to continue to acquire knowledge. It is a wise thing to do.

Wisdom is built on knowledge and discretion.

The third pillar of wisdom is to 3. Fear the Lord. The Bible says,

“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”

Job 28:28

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.”

Psalm 111:10

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10

“Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord...” Proverbs 15:33

It is an unwise thing to not fear or respect the Lord. Yet some of the worlds most brilliant minds CHOOSE to not believe in or respect or fear God. And the Bible calls them ‘fools’. Why? Because God has made Himself plain in the things He has made. (Romans 1:18-21) Only a fool would choose to believe a lie is the truth and the truth is a lie. Choose to fear God; to respect Him is just the BEGINNING of wisdom. If you want to be wise – begin with belief in and respect for the Lord. And by the way, wisdom ‘hates’ or is separate from evil, pride, arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. The wise person does not have these qualities in his life.

The fourth pillar of wisdom is ‘counsel’. I think what this means is that the wise man will take counsel. To not listen to counsel is unwise. The Bible says,

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”

Proverbs 15:22

“Mockers resent correction, so they avoid the wise.” Proverbs 15:12