WEEK 5, DAY 34: WISDOM
Scripture Reference: Luke 18:1-14 & 18-30
THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, Psalm 111:10
According to scripture, fear or awe of the Creator will produce a human being who can function well in the world, a man who is wise.
The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom and humility comes before honor. Proverbs 15:33
Wisdom is defined as “the soundness of an action or decision in regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.” Things like leadership, skillful speech, artistry, intelligence, knowledge of nature, proper government and even successful warfare are deemed outcroppings of someone gifted with wisdom. How is it, though, that an emotion so negative as fear begets the prized quality of wisdom? In wisdom’s embryonic stages, the human brain begins to open up to an understanding that we are created beings. That the Creator of us might be someone who deserves our attention and later, our deepest respect. This awakening to who God is, his greatness, majesty, power and sovereignty is the seedling from which grows a person of wisdom.
RESPECTFUL AWE
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12
This emotion of respectful awe then begins to affect our understanding of ourselves. We see our frailty, the fragility and the wonder of life itself. We start to realize who we are or who we are not. It’s when we lose the notion of invincibility that we grasp our own powerlessness. And yet, if we fail to realize our complete dependence on our Creator God, for even the air we breathe, we remain the blind fool.
WISDOM FROM GOD
Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days. Job 12:12
Wisdom itself is no guarantee of godliness in and of itself. Solomon became “greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.” So much so, that people came from all over the earth seeking his presence. Yet he still found himself living a rather miserable existence in the midst of his wealth and power.
It isn’t easy to persuade prideful man of his fallenness. Even humans in the humblest of circumstances are an amalgam of arrogance and self-doubt. This problem with humanity is just the reason why God chose to send Jesus the Son to earth. Jesus Christ demonstrated faithfully a God-centered mindset. It’s from this mindset that wisdom springs and so became our “Wisdom From God.”
BOAST IN THE LORD
For consider your calling, brothers: few of you were wise according to worldly standards, few were powerful, few were of noble birth. God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. He chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world. He took things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. It is because of God we are in Christ Jesus. He became, for our sake, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption from God. So as it is written; “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
—Lori Grizzell, Greenwood Park
TIME TO CONTEMPLATE:
- Who is the wisest person you know? Why are they wise?
- Have you personally experienced this process of realizing who God is, then who you really are, and then growth in wisdom?
PRAY:
Holy Father in Heaven, Thank you for breaking through the fog with the truth of our fallen frailty. Thank you for being patient with us as we wake up and come to a knowledge of the truth. Father, thank you that Christ did all the work to make that happen. Thank you for setting us free to live abundant lives in You! In Jesus name. Amen
