Get Wisdom!
Recently I sat down at Einstein’s Bagel shop with a man named Frank Seekins. Frank is a counselor by trade, but he is learner/teacher in life. I asked to meet with him because, over the years, he has shared bits of relationship knowledge with me, which has produced relationship understanding in me, which has produced relational wisdom for me and my relationships. And, oh, how sweet wisdom is!
Proverbs 4:7-9 says it this way:
Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom!
Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding!
Throw your arms around her—believe me, you won’t regret it;
never let her go—she’ll make your life glorious.
She’ll garland your life with grace,
she’ll festoon your days with beauty.”
Festoon is a weird word, but it's fun to say and it has a meaningful connotation. Basically, it means wisdom will cause your days to be rewarded and celebrated.
Remember the story of Solomon's first court case as the new, young king of Israel? Two women claimed a baby was theirs. There was no DNA testing or any other way to clearly prove what the truth was, so Solomon commanded the baby to be cut in half. At first everyone was aghast, but one of the moms cried out for Solomon to spare the baby's life. She told Solomon to give the child to the other mom.
Now everyone moved from aghast to bewildered, except for Solomon. Solomon heard the cry of the mom who was willing to give up the child in order to spare its life and knew she was the real mom. Instead of cutting the baby in half, he commanded that the baby be given to the mom who was willing to give up the child. Solomon now knew she was the true mom.
Bam. All the aghast and bewildered feeling immediately gave way to wonder at the wisdom displayed and joy at the justice executed. Solomon’s wisdom brought great reward and celebration to Solomon and the nation he ruled.
We at Living Streams are committing ourselves to getting wisdom this year. We are currently doing a sermon series called “The Other Hours” to help prime the pump for our getting of wisdom. We have launched an online curriculum as a well of wisdom for our people to draw from.
And I want to encourage you to add one more avenue of getting wisdom. Set up a meeting with someone you respect who has knowledge or understanding in an area you want to gain wisdom. And bring a pencil and paper.
All the best,
David