Proverbs 18:4

Wise words are like deep waters; wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook.

If you look at the history of many communities, you will find that settlements originally grew up in close proximity to a river, brook or spring. The water source gave them life and here, Proverbs says that it is just the same with wisdom. Wisdom brings life wherever it goes, and so wise people will centre their lives on it. I love the straightforwardness of the writer who sees a sharp distinction between wisdom and foolishness, life and death. Fools live a life that is firmly built on laziness and selfishness, and everything they do ends in disaster. But wise people, whose life is built on a reverence for God, will live a life that is characterised by love, understanding and generosity.

Who then are the people whose wisdom will invigorate and strengthen us as we live for God? We all need to seek them out! They are not necessarily people with great knowledge, but they are people who know God well. They may not be leaders or have any prominent role, but their faithful walk with the Lord has given them a depth of understanding of how God works. The result is that their wise words help us to understand more about how we should live. Wisdom in the book of Proverbs is always intensely practical. It shows us how to live life to the full. CH Spurgeon, the famous Victorian Baptist preacher wrote: “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great as the knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”

May God help us all to seek his wisdom like a babbling brook, that brings life to us and to all those around us.

Question – Who are the wise people in your life?

Prayer – Loving God, I thank you that you are the source of all wisdom. Help me to be humble enough to receive your wisdom and to be willing to share it with others. Amen