Seven Pillars Of Wisdom

Too many people do not seek out counsel when they embark upon a course of action. In fact, some get down right irritated and angry if you try to give them advice. The wise person seeks counsel. The wise person goes first to the source of wisdom. The Bible says,

“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.”

Job 12:13

The truly wise person always begins by listening to God and seeking His counsel by reading and knowing His Word. The result?

“Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise.”

Proverbs 15:31

The fifth pillar of wisdom is sound judgment. Sound judgment is,

“the capacity to assess situations or circumstances shrewdly and to draw sound conclusions.”

It is the wise person who is able to check out a situation and intelligently draw a solid conclusion to it. There is a process here. There is fact finding, information examination, and thoughtful deduction before reaching a sound judgment. A foolish person is rash. A foolish person does things and says things without any thought process; without any thought of the consequence or result.

“The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.” Proverbs 15:2

“The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.” Proverbs 15:28

“To answer before listening— that is folly and shame.” Proverbs 18:13

Do you begin to see that it is foolish to speak before thinking? It is foolish to say whatever pops into your mind. It is foolish to answer before listening - really listening to a person. Sometimes you may have to understand the tone of the voice or the body language or the background of the individual before you can answer wisely. The wise person calculates; he thinks; he ponders – before speaking and reaching sound judgment.

The sixth pillar of wisdom is ‘understanding’. If you don’t understand you can’t be very wise. So, how do we get understanding? The Bible says,

“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,

turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding— indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:1-6

“But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding. It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right.” Job 32:8-9

I think it is clear that understanding comes, first from the Lord, and secondly, by applying our heart to it. The Scriptures says to call out for it; to cry out loud for it. It tells us to search for it like we would for hidden treasure or precious metals. Jesus said to ask and seek and knock. That is how we get understanding. We are to hunger and thirst for understanding. We need to deeply desire to know and understand.