Proverbs 4:8
If you prize wisdom, she will make you great.
Embrace her, and she will honor you.
Thousands of years ago, the wisest man of the time named Salomon lived his life embracing wisdom. And that wisdom made him a very wealthy and successful man. Today I see a lot of people pursuing this so called success that they desire to have, never realizing that wisdom is one of the first requirements they must have in their journey for success. The bible says in Proverbs 24:3, “A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense.” I believe that wisdom is the thing to pursue and hold on too if we want to see our “house” be built strong. House can mean our material needs, family life, relationships, and the course of our lives. Wisdom is about knowing what God is saying about particular things in life
The question now comes down to “How do we get that wisdom?”
First, we must ask for it. The bible says in James 1:5 “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.” While knowledge can be acquired from books or experiences, true wisdom can only come from God. Thousands of years ago Salomon was asked by God what it is that he would like to have as king, and he asked for wisdom. And God granted him his wish. His wisdom was initially revealed when the people of Israel stood in awe of Salomon’s wisdom when they heard about the judgment which the king had made regarding the two women who fought over ownership of one baby. Two women had given birth to two babies at about the same time, but one of the babies died one night because of accident. The mother of the dead child then switched her baby with the other baby while the mother was asleep. In short, both mothers came before King Salomon to plead the case, the king made a good judgment by ordering to cut the living baby in half and giving each half to each woman. This decision led to the real mother pleading to the king to not kill the baby and to give the baby to the other woman. Thus, the real mother was revealed and the case was solved. Salomon’s wisdom led him to become the richest and most successful king of his time.
Second, we can gain wisdom by quality reading of the word of God, the bible. There have been countless of times where the bible speaks to me about life. It is a book filled with wisdom. My pastor in Vancouver, Canada, Sonny Mandagie once pointed out that the book of proverbs consists of 31 chapters. In a month where there are 31 days, we can finish the whole book of proverbs by reading 1 chapter a day. Repeat this habit every month and one can only imagine the amount of wisdom we can gain. The bible says in proverbs 4:8 “If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will honor you.” The evangelist Billy Graham once said that if we want to get right with man, we should read the book of proverbs, and if we want to get right with God, we should read the book of psalms. I believe every other book in the bible has the same ability to impart wisdom to those who need it.
For wisdom is more profitable than silver,
And her wages are better than gold.
~ King Salomon ~