Proverbs 3:13-14

Everyone wants joy. Of course we do. Talk to any parent and almost everyone will say that they want their children to be happy. They don’t mind what career they follow, where they live or who they marry but they want them to be happy and joyful.

The words of the book of Proverbs are timeless. The writer tells us that the route to joy is through gaining wisdom. So we need to be absolutely clear what is meant by this grand word ‘wisdom’. It is not the same as knowledge. Knowing a huge number of facts may be really interesting and useful but it may also cause headaches and lead to arrogance.

Wisdom takes us to the heart of how life ticks. To be wise is to understand the greatest truths about life. The writer of Proverbs is clear that those truths are found in God. As we get to know God better, we learn more about ourselves, our neighbours and our world. We learn those things which bring peace, love and joy.

It is perfectly possible for someone to have very little knowledge but huge wisdom. There are many people who the world would consider to be simple and naïve who, because they trust God, have great wisdom.

In his first letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul spoke a great deal about true wisdom. He spoke of the way in which God turns our understanding of wisdom on its head. The supreme wisdom of God is seen in the death of Jesus on the cross, something which non-Jews thought was sheer foolishness and Jews considered offensive (see 1 Corinthians 1:23). But as we get to know Jesus better, we find out what real wisdom is all about. And, when we do, it makes all the silver and gold in the world look unimportant.

QUESTION

In what way have you seen God’s wisdom bring joy to people?

PRAYER

Loving God, I realise that you are the source of all true wisdom. Help me to grow in wisdom day by day. Amen