What is Wisdom? Pt. 1

Proverbs 4:5-9
5 Get wisdom, get understanding;

do not forget my words or swerve from them.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;

love her, and she will watch over you.
7 Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.

Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
8 Esteem her, and she will exalt you;

embrace her, and she will honor you.
9 She will set a garland of grace on your head

and present you with a crown of splendor."

That miraculous Proverbs 31 woman “openeth her mouth with wisdom” – she openeth? Really? You mean rather than stumbling onto a word of wisdom as she rattles off twenty or so of her thirty thousand words a day, she actually starts off with or opens her mouth first with wisdom? Really? No kidding, it’s possible?

Ever found yourself in the middle of lecturing someone and realize you aren’t really being wise about it all but you’re so far in now you feel to save face you have to pursue the current course? I hate it when that happens! When I find myself in these predicaments I’m always quickly reminded that this wonderful woman so beautifully portrayed for us in Proverbs 31 is able to start off speaking with wisdom (Pr. 31:26). Would someone please tell me how she does that…please? Well here are at least some thoughts to consider…

Let’s start by looking a little more closely at Proverbs 4:9 in particular.

“She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace;
a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.”

The word ornament here means something attached and is rooted in a word that means to twine together, to unite, to remain, and to join oneself to. What the words are really saying to us is that what Wisdom wants to give us is not something to wear or hang on our lives like a Christmas tree ornament; it is something that has to become intertwined, connected and joined to us in such a way that it remains. Wisdom wants to place on our heads – where you think, reason, formulate your thoughts; the summit of your carnal nature – something permanent that reflects the graciousness of God. The wisdom of God has to become so much a part of who we are that it is first nature to us not an afterthought.

For this to happen, ladies, we have to have a thorough understanding of just who and what Wisdom is. For greater understanding of this let’s take a look at Proverbs 8. It begins by reminding us that Wisdom is always calling out to us. She is calling out from the high places. Wisdom does not allow us to stay where we are at; she will always call to us from a higher place prompting us to move to where she is so we can clearly hear what she has to say. Wisdom also calls to us at crossroads. She is always present and speaking at the places in our lives where decisions have to be made. She stands at the gates or the entrances and exits of our lives. Are you getting it yet? Wisdom always has something to say about who you are, what you are doing and where you are.

More thoughts later this week...

Living & Loving,

Kathi