Becoming a wise person

Proverbs 2:1-10 (NASB)

My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, Guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones. Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

Solomon, the author of this passage, was as wise as any man who ever lived.  In I Kings 3:5-9 God asked Solomon “What shall I give you?”  Solomon’s answer?  He wanted an understanding heart to be able to discern good from evil.  God was very pleased with this request and replied that He had given Solomon “a wise and discerning heart” (I Kings 3:12).  So Solomon used his God-given wisdom to write most of Proverbs. 

In this passage he tells his son what it will take to have godly wisdom.  I think that what Solomon wrote to his son was nicely summarized for today’s application by Haddon Robinson (Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI; http://odb.org/2003/01/17/discover-the-treasures/):

1.     Set aside a regular time each day to study your Bible (“receive my words…..treasure my commandments…..make your ear attentive to wisdom”)  Unless you schedule it, you will neglect it.

2.     Before you start reading, ask God for help and understanding (“incline your heart to understanding….cry for discernment…..lift your voice for understanding”)

3.     Carefully think about what you are reading.  The treasures of the Bible seldom lie like pebbles on the surface.  To mine the gold, you have to dig (“seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures”).

4.     Before you decide what a passage means to you, try to understand what the author was saying to the original readers.

5.     Write down at least one truth or principle you can put into practice.

6.     Don't get discouraged. Some parts of the Bible are difficult to understand, but there's much that you can understand. And if you apply what you've learned, it will revolutionize your life.

If you apply these principles of Bible study, prayer, and thinking deeply about what God is saying to you through His Word, note the promises that God will give to you:

1.     You will “discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God”.

2.     You will receive wisdom: “For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright”

3.     You will be protected: “He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones.

4.     You will be discerning and wise and you will receive wonderful blessings: “Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul”. 

Wisdom is not achieved readily or easily. You have to spend a lot of time and energy trying to find it.    Solomon through Proverbs 2 promises that you will find it.  How interested are you in being a wise person?  Lemuel K Washburn wrote in “Is The Bible Worth Reading And Other Essays” that “If wisdom and diamonds grew on the same tree we could soon tell how much men loved wisdom”.  Think about what you would choose.  Reflect on what Solomon chose.

 

When you find wisdom what will you be?  Among the characteristics of a wise person are: self-control, patience, humility, willingness and ability to learn from mistakes, ability to face and overcome failure and discouragement, make the most of their relationships, think most of the time before speaking, wise in the use of money and other assets, and trustworthy.  Wise people attract others to seek them and learn from them.  The achievement of wisdom very well could be the greatest treasure on earth you can find.  Just reflect again on the promises of wisdom written not only in this passage, but throughout the book of Proverbs.  Einstein is quoted as declaring that “wisdom is not a product of schooling, but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”  God says through Solomon’s Proverbs that wisdom is a result of seeking, knowing and applying biblical principles everyday of your life.