Day 15 - Wisdom

Proverbs 8:1-6 (ESV)
Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: "To you, O men, I call and my cry is to the children of man. O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense. Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right...

A strange, small, green being is a source of wisdom in Star Wars V - Empire Strikes Back. Luke Skywalker’s X Wing fighter is stuck in a swamp, deep in a hidden, far-away place. The wisdom of Yoda comes out in “Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.” Got it?

We sometimes have this idea that wisdom is hidden in some deep, mysterious place. That only a chosen few discover the sages who can pass on enlightening truth.

But the Bible speaks of wisdom as an everyday, practical, accessible quality of life. The God of all truth and wisdom wants us to be wise in each decision we make every day.

In Proverbs 8 wisdom is depicted as out-front, conspicuous, and loud. In this passage, wisdom has a voice of its own: not a whisper or a secret, but a shout and a call. Wisdom “calls out,” saying to humanity, “I raise my voice...” What does this voice say? You don’t need to be foolish. You can live a prudent life. Here are ways to speak, to act, to discern, to react, to plan, to prosper, to please God.
In Proverbs, to be wise is to be discerning, humble, prudent, fair, and right. Wisdom is the discernment with which to see the differences between major and minor issues; humility, so that we don’t make too much of ourselves; prudence, which not only judges what is right but predicts different contingencies; fairness and rightness, which cause others to trust us. To be wise, in other words, is more than being smart. You can be the most intelligent person in the world and be a fool. Wisdom means to be good, and in so doing, to be right.

The call of wisdom is, of course, the call of God. Our creator is the one who has such high hopes for our lives that he shouts out warnings and summons us with his calming voice. And we don’t need to go looking in a mystic swamp to find him.

PONDER: In which ways do you need the wisdom of God for what you are facing today? 

REFLECTION or DISCUSSION
Wisdom is calling out to us in Proverbs 8. This call is God helping us to seek his wisdom in each area of our lives. Being wise means trying to discern the choices God wants us to make each and every day.
Read Proverbs 8:1-6 again. What do you think wisdom means? God wants us to have his wisdom. What are some ways you can become more wise? How can you use wisdom when you make decisions?