“Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance.” – Proverbs 1:5
What is Wisdom? Aristotle once said that it is “the meeting place between moral will and moral skill.” That is, it is when a person knows the moral action that needs to be carried out and actually has the will do to it. After all, it isn’t enough to know what to do or to want to do it, you need both working alongside each other.When Solomon wrote the book on Wisdom (Proverbs), he implied that Wisdom is turning at reproof and learning from mistakes (Proverbs 1:23).
Wisdom is more than just knowing how and having the will to do something, it is taking into consideration the mistakes that we have made in the past. Am I wise if I have made the mistake 1,000 times, know how to stop myself and even have the will to do so but continually go back to the old way? Absolutely not!
Therefore, Wisdom, in a word, is learning.
However, hearing and learning take…
A STANDARD
They were letting the words in, but they weren’t actually hearing the President.
Have you ever acted on your desires and sinned only to do the same thing 6 months later even after hearing a sermon or participating in a Bible study on the exact subject? It’s because you didn’t hear what the Scriptures were saying. You didn’t learn.
Remember, Solomon said that Wisdom is learning from past mistakes and turning away from them in the future (cf. Acts 3:19).
All too often, we think we know the answer and in the end rest upon our thoughts instead of the teachings of Christ. He’s the standard so if we are to hear and learn (i.e. be wise) we will submit to His standard and pay close attention in the future.
COURAGE
Why is that?
It’s because we are chicken. We’re so scared to be wrong that Wisdom can’t get a word in edgewise. It’s like the husband who was in marriage counseling after his wife said she wanted a divorce because he never talked to her anymore. “I didn’t want to interrupt.” was his answer.
We have to be willing to admit fault in our thinking, actions and past in order to fully experience what it means to live a life of Wisdom. Otherwise, the standard of God’s Will won’t amount to a hill of beans because we can’t admit fault and are terrified of making mistakes.
Wisdom is learning. Learning takes and standard and a standard means we have to have the courage to admit we don’t know the Way on our own.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” – Proverbs 1:7
Source: Lee M Snow