Wisdom in Proverbs: Golden Principles We All Need

Good advice is valuable. It is valuable because it comes from people who have been there before. Proverbs is full of good advice, but it's more than that. The book of Proverbs gives us ageless principles for just about every area of life. They are ageless, because human nature hasn't changed, and neither has God. Only the landscape is different.

In a society that values knowledge, I thought it appropriate to contrast it with Wisdom. Someone can certainly be knowledgeable, but lack wisdom, according to Proverbs.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 9:10

There is no getting around it. Again and again, we are told that True Wisdom begins with a healthy fear of the Lord. We can't get there without understanding, recognizing, and embracing some things about God.

God is Holy. He is sovereign. He is also omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, loving, gracious and just. When we forget (or ignore) these things, we are prone to making decisions based on the world's "wisdom," and that is not wise at all.

Our government is full of very knowledgeable people. Unfortunately, many of them, and us, make decisions out of our own experiences and best interests instead of out of the fear of the Lord. How different would our lives be if selfishness and greed were replaced with a Fear of the Lord? How different would our families be, our communities, our government and our economy?

Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight.

1 Corinthians 3:18-19

I'm praying for wisdom today, both in my own life, and in the lives of those who lead our country.