I have spent the last eleven months trying to really understand how we become wise. Every day I read through a chapter of Proverbs and wrestle with the material. I really want to grasp it, to understand what it means, but more importantly, I want to be able to live it out. I want to know at the end of my life that I have walked with wisdom to God's good pleasure. I want to be wise. I want to know how to live, how to be a good husband, how to be a good father, how to be a good pastor, and how to be a good Christian. Wisdom is about being what God desires.
The book of Proverbs is so rich in its descriptions of wisdom and folly. Wisdom (godly maturity in action) and folly (ungodly immaturity in action) are compared and contrasted through the book. We are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7) and that the fear of the Lord is hatred of evil (Prov. 8:13).
The book of Proverbs is about living a life that glorifies God. It is a book about how our faith should play out in the real world. When we claim to know God it should produce change in us. If we really know God, he will work out his character in us and through us. As I read through Proverbs I am often reminded of Jesus' teaching and I am reminded of James' letter. I wise man once informed me that the book of James is the New Testament equivalent to the book of Proverbs. It encapsulates practical advice on how to live out the faith we proclaim. True religion, as James calls it, is a matter of faith worked out in obedience.
James reminds us to pray for wisdom (James 1:5). He also tells us that if we really trust God will grant us wisdom. The question that comes to mind is, "How does God give us wisdom?". I think the answer is so simple it is often over looked. God teaches not by abstract signs and omens that have to be interpreted. He doesn't "speak" through tea leaves, or astrological phenomena. We don't have to gut a pig and read the entrails to know what God desires for us. Most, if not all, of the signs in the Scriptures do not come without God's voice. He spoke, and continues to speak, through his Word. As Paul reminded Timothy, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Tim 3:16, ESV).
How does God grant us wisdom? He speaks to us through his Word. He reveals his character and nature. He reveals our character and nature. He reveals our need for Christ. He reveals, through Christ, how we must live in order to please him. He reveals all of these things and more, then he places us in real life situations where we have to put those truths into practice. As we believe the Scripture and practice it, God works in us to bring about a life that glorifies him. As we grow in Christ, we grow in wisdom.
Friends grant that God would continue to build a desire for wisdom in my heart. Pray that he would guide my steps in his wisdom. Pray that I would lack nothing concerning wisdom. And I will do the same for you.
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