Wisdom's Way

The focus on the prayer and fasting guide for today is for the children and teenagers of the church. Our church’s vision is to present every person fully mature in Christ. This includes everyone whether it is our children, teens, the young and old - every person whether married or single. Christ will return and His coming is imminent so, as a church, we want to be prepared just as Jesus illustrated in his parable about the 10 virgins. 5 were foolish (thoughtless, silly, & careless) and five were wise (far-sighted, practical, & sensible). Jesus is calling us to be wise, to grow up in all things.

But how do we measure growth? If we think of physical growth, some families have a place on the wall where they mark off how tall their child grows each year. We can measure the growth of a baby, to when they become a toddler, a preteen, teenager, and then a young adult. There are other ways to gauge growth as we get older - through education, professional development, earned degrees, and accomplishments.

However, the biblical understanding of growth is holistic, it encompasses your total being - not just physical or mental growth but gauges our emotional and spiritual growth as well. Jewish parents were commanded to teach their children wisdom, not merely training them to do follow rules but to reverence the Lord and to do what is right and good (Deut. 6:1–9). Prov 22:6 tells us to train up a child in the way he or she should go [teaching him or her to seek God’s wisdom and will for their abilities and talents], because even when they are old they will not depart from it.

We see in the book of Proverbs, that wisdom is not only personal, but it is a path or way that we should take and principles we should apply in any given situation. Wisdom (hokma) includes more than making moral decisions, it is the ability to make the right decisions when there are no clear moral laws telling us what to do. Some decisions require only knowledge like getting information from an instruction manual or being up-to-date on CoV restrictions and regulations but the path of life requires more than just having the correct knowledge or truth on a matter: It is knowing what truth to apply and how to apply it in a particular situation or circumstance.

That being said, the Bible doesn’t cover every possible scenario or decision you will have to make in life, like who to marry, whether to pursue a career in engineering, music, or culinary arts, who to hire for a particular job, etc. But the Bible does provide knowledge and wisdom for what type of qualities to look for in a potential marriage partner, how to discover your gifts and talents and make decisions for your future accordingly, what type of character traits and work ethics you look for when you hire someone to do a job. By applying godly principles in our daily decisions we begin to grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually into the type of person who is able to make wise choices in life.

As we will read in Proverbs 2, there is a price for learning Wisdom’s way which far outweighs the costs. Warren Wiersby said, “There’s a price to pay if we would gain spiritual wisdom, but there’s an even greater price to pay if we don’t gain it.”

Prov 2:1-16,20-22 (NLT)

1 My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. 2 Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. 3 Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. 4 Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. 5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. 8 He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. 9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. 11 Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. 12 Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted. 13 These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. 14 They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. 15 Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong. 16 Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman. 20 So follow the steps of the good, and stay on the paths of the righteous. 21 For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it. 22 But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.