9 Truths About Wisdom: Part Three

7. Wisdom is impossible without humility.

"The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,

and humility comes before honor."

(Proverbs 15:33, ESV)

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths.

Be not wise in your own eyes;

Fear the Lord and turn away from evil."

(Proverbs 3:5-7, ESV)

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace,

but with the humble is wisdom."

(Proverbs 11:2, ESV)

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,

but a wise man listens to advice."

(Proverbs 12:15, ESV)

Confession: this is the hardest part of wisdom for me! I think if we're honest, I'm not the only one. Humility is a fleeting thing for us. Just when we think we have it, we feel a prideful satisfaction at our accomplishment, and oops! there goes the humility... 

Nevertheless, humility is a prerequisite to wisdom. Why? Because in order to be open to instruction we have to admit we don't know everything. 

Example: I took several classes on elementary math for my undergraduate coursework. It was stuff like addition, subtraction, etc. Easy. At first, I thought, Hello, I'm in college! I do not need instruction on addition. This is a waste of my time, and I'm not going to pay attention. Well, it turned out there was more knowledge to be understood about addition that I did not have. (Don't laugh!) And I could not gain that knowledge until I admitted to myself that I didn't have it and opened my mind to instruction. And, (surprise, surprise) I came out of that class with a much better established, deeper understanding of addition. But I had to start with humility. 

The same principle is true for gaining insight from God. Even if you think you have mastered a concept or lifestyle of wisdom in a certain area(s), the fact is that you still don't know all there is to know. God is all-wise. We are not. But we can grow in wisdom when we humble ourselves and admit that we don't know it all and need God to instruct us. It's amazing what you can learn when you apply this principle! I wish I had abundant experience being wise enough to admit I'm not wise, but let's both take this to heart and ask God to humble us more and teach us more!

8. Wisdom is rewarding.

"My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,

and my yield than choice silver."

(Proverbs 8:19, ESV)

"Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,

and the one who gets understanding,

for the gain from her is better than gain from silver

and her profit better than gold.

She is more precious than jewels,

and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Long life is in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honor.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

and all her paths are peace.

She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;

those who hold her fast are called blessed."

(Proverbs 3:13-18, ESV)

Wisdom is valuable short-term and long-term. 

In the short-term, people who are wise benefit from the natural effects of wise choices. This does not mean that wisdom will always make life perfect for you; that just is not how life works. Trials come to wise and godly people all the time. Take Job, for instance; he was an upright and righteous man, but he lost all of his worldly possessions, family, and health. Often times, these trials are the very means by which God makes us holier and wiser. But, as a general rule, wise choices result in positive things. A wise parent disciplines her child; the child typically grows up with a healthy respect for authority. A wise student works hard on studying; she gets better grades and the respect of her teachers and peers. A wise worker works diligently; she has money to sustain life's needs. These rewards are natural.

Wisdom has good consequences. It is "the good life" that God wants for us, even if the wise choice means delayed pleasure or has no immediately obvious benefits. God does not call us to wisdom to be a kill-joy and tyrant. He is calling us into a right posture of worship that brings our lives and hearts into harmony with our Maker and results in abundant joy. 

In the long-term, people who are wise benefit from the eternal effects of wise choices. The Bible speaks clearly about a judgment day for all people, even believers who are covered by Christ's righteousness. On that day, we will be held accountable for every idle word and evil deed, but we may also receive a due reward for good deeds done for God's glory. (See 2 Corinthians 5:10 and Matthew 12:36.) 

In addition to personal eternal benefits, a wise Christian life is an investment in eternal Kingdom purposes. This benefits anyone who knows or may come to know the Lord and brings glory to God. All that you do that would be considered "putting your hand to the plow" in work for the Kingdom of God to move on Earth is of eternal significance. Making choices like sharing the gospel, encouraging and discipling sisters in Christ, raising your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, loving and trusting God in your personal life, etc. are eternal investments with eternal rewards for the Kingdom of which we are citizens, which should be of great value to us.

9. Foolishness has consequences. 

"but he who fails to find me injures himself;

all who hate me love death."

(Proverbs 8:36, ESV)

"The iniquities of the wicked man ensnare him,

and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

He dies for lack of discipline,

and because of his great folly he is led astray."

(Proverbs 5:22-23, ESV)

"For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing,

whether good or evil."

(Ecclesiastes 12:14, ESV)

As previously mentioned, you are on one of two paths: growing in wisdom or wrecking your life with foolishness. There is no middle ground. Growing in wisdom produces positive results. Foolishness produces negative consequences.

I don't know about you, but 99% of the time (maybe even 100%) I have to learn things the hard way. I'm stubborn. I like to test out the less-wise (read: foolish) options (for the sake of science) before settling firmly that the wise choice is actually wise. It's so stupid, I know. But you know what else? It produces a lot of negative consequences! For instance, if I don't believe that the stove eye is hot, you know I'm gonna touch it and test it. (Don't lie; you do it too!) And guess what... I will get burned, and it will be painful. You know why "learning the hard way" is "hard?" Because it comes back to bite you! 

Foolishness can be much more dominating in your life than the occasional burned finger, though. Unfortunately, often times foolishness isn't as immediately painful as touching the stove, and so fools go on being foolish, thinking it's fun and pleasurable, not knowing they are on a path to destruction. I know in my own life that my foolishness wrecked my life before God intervened. Hear me on this: foolishness is not always obvious. The Prince of Preachers, Charles H. Spurgeon, said of discernment: "Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right." Keep both eyes open.

For Christians, foolishness often looks like a return to your pre-salvation lifestyle or a pet sin. Here's what Paul has to say about that, and I hope it encourages you:

"For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the [result] of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its [result], eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

(Romans 6:20-23, ESV)

Sister, a life marked and bound by foolishness and sin is a thing of the past for us! We could not help ourselves in our sin nature. But now we are freed to make wise choices and become wise under the safe, benevolent Lordship of Jesus Christ, who paid our sin-debt to make it so. Satan always will tell you that your past sins were better than you remember and tempt you to return to them. He is lying. Remember the truth. Remember how sad your life was when you walked in darkness. Remember how hopeless you once were. Don't let Satan fool you! You are living the good life in Christ now and in eternity when you obey him with your life! 

A final warning: I mentioned this earlier, but it's worth mentioning again. There will be a final judgement for believers and non-believers. Every thought, word, and act of foolishness will be on the record, and God will hold you accountable for it all. And it will be way scarier than the time your mom caught you hiding your vitamins. (I did that.) I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I wouldn't be loving you well if I didn't tell you this. 

There is hope for you if you're a Christian in that (a) you have the ability to be wiser in God's strength now, and (b) even on judgement day, every evil deed on your record will be forgiven because of Jesus. I would encourage you (and myself!) to focus on BOTH of these, and let b be a motivation to persevere with a. 

If Jesus is not your Lord and Savior, judgement day is something that should terrify you. And I mean that in the most loving way possible. If you are not covered in Christ's righteousness on that day, your best life is now, and your eternity will be unmitigated suffering and separation from God and all his common graces. And it will be because of your foolishness, because of your sin. I don't say this to shame you but to warn you and beg you to consider Christ. As long as there is breathe in your lungs, there is hope for you! All Christians were like you, running in foolishness, before Christ stepped in and saved us. He can save you, too! Please, if you want your eternity secured and your life filled with peace, if you want the burden of guilt, shame, and moral requirements to be lifted off your tired shoulders, do not wait any longer. Submit yourself to Christ, and be forgiven, cleansed, and brought into a wise life.