So, What is Wisdom?

(More from the achives. I find reading something enough, we eventually "get it"!!)

Wisdom!! That's what Proverbs is on about. And if you want to be wise, just read it and do what it says... sounds simple!

And King Solomon, who wrote most of the Proverbs, was so renowned for his amazing wisdom that people would travel hundreds and thousands of miles to hear him.

So really, what IS Wisdom? And what did Solomon have that others didn't?

Well, that's what I wanted to know, so I did a bit of study.

In my Vines dictionary, I learned that wisdom is the knowledge and ability to make the RIGHT choices at the RIGHT time.

As I write, this story about Solomon comes to my mind:

Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. "Please, my lord," one of them began, "this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house. Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house. "But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her. And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.” Then the other woman interrupted, “It certainly was your son, and the living child is mine.” “No,” the first woman said, “the living child is mine, and the dead one is yours.” And so they argued back and forth before the king. Then the king said, “Let’s get the facts straight. Both of you claim the living child is yours, and each says that the dead one belongs to the other. All right, bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to the king.
Then he said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!”
Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, and who loved him very much, cried out, “Oh no, my lord! Give her the child — please do not kill him!”
But the other woman said, “All right, he will be neither yours nor mine; divide him between us!”
Then the king said, “Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!”

When all Israel heard the king’s decision, the people were in awe of the king, for they saw the wisdom God had given him for rendering justice. (1 Kings 3:16-28, NLT)

What an incredible story! Who of us wouldn't have been in awe of wisdom like that? Which brings me to another question....

HOW did Solomon get such wisdom?

Well, it's SIMPLE!!

He ASKED for it!!! Just read this:

Solomon replied to God, “You showed faithful love to David, my father, and now you have made me king in his place. O Lord God, please continue to keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth! Give me the wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly, for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?” God said to Solomon, “Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people — I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested. But I will also give you wealth, riches, and fame such as no other king has had before you or will ever have in the future!” (2 Chronicles 1:8-12, NLT)

And if WE want wisdom, guess what? All we have to do is ASK too!!!

If you need wisdom, ASK our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. (James 1:5-8, NLT)

So we don't have ANY excuse. The difference between wisdom and foolishness is good and bad choices. And how do we get the wisdom to make the right choices? SIMPLE!! JUST ASK!!!

(Sorry about the format! The text in the quotes is bigger than the rest. I didn't mean it to be like that. I wish Ning had a better blog setup. This week, I'm learning CSS, so hopefully, I'll be able to change the way the pages look.)