Wisdom

“Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4:7-9‬

In this scripture passage; wisdom promotes, brings honor, makes you graceful and an authority. The Bible is admonishing us this day to get wisdom because it is the principal [beginning, first, chief & choice] thing

The question is how do we get it? Before that, let us attempt to define wisdom by knowing what it is NOT in the first place. I believe we confuse wisdom with knowledge; say, a clever man with great oratorial skills oozing with so much charisma can easily be deemed wise but the appropriate word should be he is knowledgeable. The fact that you are such a great charismatic talker doesn’t necessarily mean you have wisdom

I remember in my childhood, my mother and her friend drove to this particular doctor who was a senior at a faculty of a teaching hospital. We arrived in front of his house sitting in the car then he came out; a very disheveled man with unkept finger & toenails (was wearing slippers), unkept hair, his clothes looked dirty then his dental formula & teeth looked bad BUT he was a doctor- a senior at a faculty. Why do I use this example? Most of us are like “smoking doctors”. We have knowledge but it doesn’t benefit us because we don’t apply it

What is wisdom then? It is the intelligent application of knowledge you understand to your advantage. The key word for me is application. I see wisdom in three phases; you get knowledge which is information, then understanding which is comprehension and then application of the knowledge you understand- wisdom

Many know things or are very informative. They can talk a good game but bad at taking their own advice. They are like car salesmen (no offense). Sometimes you can talk to a dealer and he will give you all the specs of an Audi convincing you to buy it till you ask him, “so what car do you drive?” Then he will tell you, “erm, a Honda”. Such a contradiction, it always makes me laugh. Why don’t you drive the product you are selling me if you believe in it so much? Good to have knowledge, all the better to get understanding but best to practice and apply! This is how we enter into the realm of wisdom.

Now how do we get it? Consider this scripture please for our attention

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

So fearing God is the first step to wisdom. What does it mean to fear God? It means to develop reverence and respect to and towards God. That is honor. When you honor a person, it shows in your time with the person and how you value his opinions and thoughts concerning a matter. Well, when we honor God, we make time for him to develop a relationship. We also value his ideals and ideas. We live by his principles- some of which are love, justice, righteousness, mercy, fairness…

The second step is to pray for wisdom

“If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.” James‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

Each and every waking morning, we need wisdom. Wisdom is like fuel in a car. You need many refills if the car will perform at its optimum capacity. Likewise, so do we! We live in this complex scenario called life. You never know its twists and turns hence the need to walk in this life daily with wisdom. May this scripture give you much solace to call on Him, the giver of wisdom

I could give more but let me end with this last one

“Hear, O children, the instruction of a father, And pay attention [and be willing to learn] so that you may gain understanding and intelligent discernment.” PROVERBS‬ ‭4:1‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Listening to a father here represents the old and experienced. There are people who have gone ahead of us, seen more than us and seen farther! Their perspective of and on life is deeper as a result of experience. It will do us a great favor to listen, interact and apply discretionally what they tell us. In today’s world, experience is downplayed in favor of being innovative, smart and youthful. How has that helped society? Wisdom from an experienced man is like fine wine. The older in the cellar, the better it taste. Never despise old men or women’s wisdom because they can’t operate our current electronic gadgets.

May wisdom be our portion daily. In my next series of posts, let us look at a portrait of wisdom

Till I come your way again…

Peace & Love