This is the last Proverb in this first batch of writings, where we see wisdom lifted up and praised, we see it claimed as being within reach for all of us, something that even calls out to us and yearns to be found.

In reading this morning, the message that I got from this short Proverb is to be open to wisdom when it comes.  We see these character-sketches of the typical products of these opposing people, the scoffer and the wise man; the scoffer, with his closed mind, and the wise man, ever teachable and ever progressing.  It ties a little with the discussion from we had on having someone in our lives that can speak wisdom into us, that can challenge us and hold us accountable to our highest ideals.  It is hard work to do that...it breaks us against ourselves; meaning, it basically assures us that we are going to be falling short repeatedly.  It is like practicing the hard riffs on the guitar, knowing you’ll fail repeatedly, or the constantly trying to get those last couple of reps in the workout, even though you know you just aren’t there yet...it is a little discouraging in one sense, because we know there is failure.  In another though, it should be EN-couraging...because that’s where growth happens.

The beauty of wisdom is that we can always improve...the struggle with wisdom is that we can’t ever fully arrive.  It isn’t a test that we pass...it is stream down which we never cease to flow.  It truly is a journey and not a destination, to use a beautiful line that gets quoted too often nowadays!

Today then, my prayer will be that God gives me a humble heart.  I pray that God would make me curious enough about life that I would see learning as an adventure and not a struggle, and that I would see wisdom’s discipline (whether from a friend or from life itself) as a way of improvement rather than condemnation.  But, I also pray that God would give me the clarity to remember that the struggle in growth is the way forward...that wisdom is earned, not just learned.  I pray that He would give me unceasing energy to keep climbing that mountain.  It can wear me out...I have experienced that.  But one day I know I will look back and realize how high I am, how far I’ve come, and the view will never be the same.  That’s the game with wisdom.