Wisdom, Not just for Old Geezers

Definitions of 'wisdom' (wĭźdəm)

Dictionary.com · The American Heritage® Dictionary - (5 definitions)

[Middle English, from Old English wīsdōm.]

(noun)

1. The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight.
2. Common sense; good judgment: "It is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things" (Henry David Thoreau)
3. 1. The sum of learning through the ages; knowledge: "In those homely sayings was couched the collective wisdom of generations" (Maya Angelou)
   2. Wise teachings of the ancient sages.
4. A wise outlook, plan, or course of action.
5. Bible Wisdom of Solomon.

Hey there!

What a better way to start off your week than learning about Wisdom!? 

 

Growing up, I always thought about older people being wise and not really gave a lot of thought to young people having wisdom too.  I was wrong; however.  And, if you are thinking this way...check out what God says in the book of Proverbs.

 

Can you hear Wisdom calling out to you?  If not, maybe you're listening to the wrong source of instruction: not-Godly friends, actors, your own understanding, the lies of Satan, etc.  Or, maybe you're in love with the world.

 

Check it out!

 

And, have a great week...take Wisdom with you.  Try memorizing Proverbs 1.  Really.

Just in case you don't have access to your Bible (is it still in the car from this morning?), here is Proverbs 1:

 

Proverbs 1:1-33

(1)

The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

(2)

To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding,

(3)

To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity;

(4)

To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,

(5)

A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

(6)

To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles.

(7)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

(8)

Hear, my son, your father's instruction And do not forsake your mother's teaching;

(9)

Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck.

(10)

My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.

(11)

If they say, "Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

(12)

Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;

(13)

We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil;

(14)

Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse,"

(15)

My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path,

(16)

For their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood.

(17)

Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird;

(18)

But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives.

(19)

So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors.

(20)

Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square;

(21)

At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:

(22)

"How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?

(23)

"Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

(24)

"Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;

(25)

And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof;

(26)

I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,

(27)

When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.

(28)

"Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,

(29)

Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

(30)

"They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof.

(31)

"So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices.

(32)

"For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

(33)

"But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil."

PlanetWisdom.com Devotionals

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Wisdom Says: Wisdom Doesn't Hide Posted: 06 Sep 2010 01:00 AM PDT "Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances, she cries aloud: 'To you, O men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind.' " (Proverbs 8:1-4) For the next week or two, we're going to listen to Wisdom. Yes, I capitalized that "W" on purpose. That's because Proverbs 8 quotes Wisdom herself, calling out to us. Yes, I wrote "us," even though Proverbs 8 was written thousands of years ago. Wisdom wants to talk to you this week. Notice this first: Wisdom is not hiding. She's not a secret available only to those of us rich enough or smart enough or spiritual enough to find her. She's not a prize awarded to the most popular or most attractive or most polite. She wants to be found. She wants you to find her. That's why she's standing there at the top of the hill, at the gate to the city, and the one spot that everyone must pass by sooner or later. And she's not whispering. She's yelling, calling out, looking you in the eye. She wants to be heard. She wants you to pay attention. Think: Do you ever think of wisdom as being secretive and mysterious instead of obvious and available to all? Why or why not? Pray: Ask God for the boldness and courage to listen to Wisdom this next week. Ask Him to help you slow down long enough not to miss what she wants to tell you. Do: Read Proverbs 1.

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Mary E.Hickcox
www.CalvaryBaptistSM.org
http://mary-neotes.blogspot.com/