The War on Wisdom Sample

Wisdom can be seen as the art of skillful living, in knowing how to act and respond through life’s varying circumstances. Like the Gospel, wisdom is passed down from generation to generation. In Proverbs the authors have a deep desire to share God’s wisdom with their readers, and to bring us into creative ways of learning how to apply God’s truths to our lives. We start off with the words of a father to a son. An intimate relationship of instruction passed from one who has lived a full life to another who is stepping into the world.

In our first devotional on the father’s words to his son, we see him try and pass on the worth of wisdom. Wisdom is something that you carry around, something that everyone is able to see. It is like the “graceful wreath to your head and ornaments about your neck”. Items are often worn to adorn and draw attention and the more expensive they are, the more attractive and desired they are. We will not desire wisdom until we see the worth of it. Only then will we make our ears attentive to the words of the father.

We need to see the worth of our father’s instruction and our mother’s teaching. We need to see it for what it is, wisdom often gleaned from their life experiences, both good and bad. How often as adults do we wish we could go back and advise our younger selves purely based on what we wish we had known back then. Wisdom is something to be desired and sought after. It is readily available if we ask, but we first need to see that it is something to be desired.

Read Proverbs 1:1-7 and take note of what wisdom does for us and ask the Lord to give you a deep desire for His wisdom.