At all costs, get wisdom
"Get wisdom, get understanding..." -Proverbs 4:5
One of my all-time favorite books of the Bible is the collection of wisdom literature in Proverbs. Proverbs are so practical and yet so profound. They teach of the unsurpassed value of wisdom and why we should all pursue it with all we have. Wisdom of course begins and ends with Jesus so true wisdom can only be found through a relationship with Him through faith. After faith, the Spirit begins sanctifying the believer until the day of his/her physical death. Through that process, the Spirit uses the Word of God to develop our Spiritual maturity and character - to help us to pursue holiness, which is intertwined with wisdom and self-control.
Before moving forward, it needs to be understood that Eastern wisdom literature is to be taken in general terms, not as guarantees or promises. In other words, the Proverbs, although fully inspired and breathed out by God, are statements made that are true for us "generally speaking" - they do not represent truths that always happen. The Proverbs are not to be read as "If I perform A then I will always get result B", rather, they should be read as, "Most of the time, if I perform A then I will get result B." Do you see the difference?
So, after faith in Christ, how does this path to wisdom work and how do I personally pursue it as the Spirit works in my life and what are the benefits of such a pursuit? Below is just that path as Proverbs presents it:
Proverbs 1:7 - "The fear (reverent awe) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..."
Proverbs 1:15 - "My son, do not walk in the way with them (the evil), Keep your foot from their path."
Proverbs 2:8-9 - "He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path."
Proverbs 2:13 - "[Wisdom keeps you] From those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the way of darkness."
Proverbs 3:6 - "In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."
Proverbs 3:17 - "Her (wisdom) ways are of pleasantness and all her paths are peace."
Proverbs 4:11 - "I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths."
Proverbs 4:18 - "Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil."
Proverbs 4:26-27 - "Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or to the left; remove your foot from evil."
Proverbs 5:5-6 - "Her (adultery/sexual sin) feet go down to death, her steps lay hold of hell. Lest you ponder her path of life - her ways are unstable; you do not know them."
Proverbs 5:21 - "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths."
Proverbs 7:25 - "Do not let your heart turn aside to her (adulteress/sexual sin) ways, do not stray into her paths"
Proverbs 8:20 - "I (wisdom) traverse the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice"
Proverbs 10:17 - "He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses correction goes astray."
Proverbs 12:28 - "In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death."
Proverbs 15:19 - "The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, but the way of the upright is a highway."
Proverbs 15:24 - "The way of life winds upwards for the wise, that he may turn away from hell below."
Ultimately, wisdom and the pursuit of it brings life while any other path brings evil and ultimately death. Therefore, at all costs, get wisdom.
One of my all-time favorite books of the Bible is the collection of wisdom literature in Proverbs. Proverbs are so practical and yet so profound. They teach of the unsurpassed value of wisdom and why we should all pursue it with all we have. Wisdom of course begins and ends with Jesus so true wisdom can only be found through a relationship with Him through faith. After faith, the Spirit begins sanctifying the believer until the day of his/her physical death. Through that process, the Spirit uses the Word of God to develop our Spiritual maturity and character - to help us to pursue holiness, which is intertwined with wisdom and self-control.
Before moving forward, it needs to be understood that Eastern wisdom literature is to be taken in general terms, not as guarantees or promises. In other words, the Proverbs, although fully inspired and breathed out by God, are statements made that are true for us "generally speaking" - they do not represent truths that always happen. The Proverbs are not to be read as "If I perform A then I will always get result B", rather, they should be read as, "Most of the time, if I perform A then I will get result B." Do you see the difference?
So, after faith in Christ, how does this path to wisdom work and how do I personally pursue it as the Spirit works in my life and what are the benefits of such a pursuit? Below is just that path as Proverbs presents it:
Proverbs 1:7 - "The fear (reverent awe) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..."
Proverbs 1:15 - "My son, do not walk in the way with them (the evil), Keep your foot from their path."
Proverbs 2:8-9 - "He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path."
Proverbs 2:13 - "[Wisdom keeps you] From those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the way of darkness."
Proverbs 3:6 - "In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."
Proverbs 3:17 - "Her (wisdom) ways are of pleasantness and all her paths are peace."
Proverbs 4:11 - "I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths."
Proverbs 4:18 - "Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil."
Proverbs 4:26-27 - "Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or to the left; remove your foot from evil."
Proverbs 5:5-6 - "Her (adultery/sexual sin) feet go down to death, her steps lay hold of hell. Lest you ponder her path of life - her ways are unstable; you do not know them."
Proverbs 5:21 - "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths."
Proverbs 7:25 - "Do not let your heart turn aside to her (adulteress/sexual sin) ways, do not stray into her paths"
Proverbs 8:20 - "I (wisdom) traverse the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice"
Proverbs 10:17 - "He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses correction goes astray."
Proverbs 12:28 - "In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death."
Proverbs 15:19 - "The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, but the way of the upright is a highway."
Proverbs 15:24 - "The way of life winds upwards for the wise, that he may turn away from hell below."
Ultimately, wisdom and the pursuit of it brings life while any other path brings evil and ultimately death. Therefore, at all costs, get wisdom.
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