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What is wisdom and why is it important?
Wisdom is the state of being wise. It is knowledge of what is right coupled with good judgment and discernment or insight. And a God-listening heart will assure wise decisions. When we use wisdom, it helps us avoid reckless decisions. Lady V and I believe everyone needs wisdom to live skillfully. And a God-listening heart will greatly help one in that process.
So, let’s look at why wisdom is important to our lives as a whole. For instance, the Word of God [The Holy Bible] is filled with wisdom. Therefore, when we read the Word of God, we learn golden nuggets. More specifically, those golden nuggets will light the way and keep us on the right path.
Furthermore, God uses the wisdom of the past to speak to our present. And you may ask, how does God do that? Well, the answer is clear. God speaks through His Word with the experiences of others. Therefore, when we live our lives, guided by wisdom—we gain insights that help the next generation. Lady V and I agree this happens best when we open our hearts to hear God’s direction.
The following two scriptures reiterate the importance of wisdom: Proverbs 3:4 says, getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do and whatever else you do develop good judgment. And Proverbs 2:11 it says, wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe.
The perks of wisdom
Wisdom is the principle thing. Why? Because with wisdom, the perks of wisdom are good judgment, knowledge, and discernment (Proverbs 8:12). An example of this is found in 1 Kings chapters 3 and 4. Because of wisdom, King Solomon was known as the wisest of kings.
Likewise, he followed all the traditions of King David his father. The most important of those traditions was loving and worshiping God. Since Solomon was a young king, he knew he needed wisdom from God to rule and govern the people under his leadership.
In Luke 10:38 Mary sat at the feet of Jesus as He discussed scripture. She hung on His every word because she knew He was giving insights that would greatly benefit her life. And that is how we’re supposed to be. We’re supposed to come to God like Mary, like Solomon and sit at his feet; listening to His directions for our lives.
God is always speaking—are you willing to listen?
Photo by Rachel Lynette on Unsplash
Back to King Solomon, he worshiped and sought direction from God. Then God visited him in a dream. He told Solomon that he could have whatever he wanted. But instead of asking for things, Solomon asked for wisdom. In other words, he wanted discernment to know the difference between good and evil.
Specifically, he knew he needed a God-listening heart to rule his nation. Solomon knew he couldn’t judge or lead the people without God. So, because God was impressed with the young king’s request—He gave him wisdom and great wealth. King Solomon was the wisest and wealthiest king to ever live.
In the same vein, we see Solomon operating from a God listening heart in 1 Kings 3. There were two prostitutes who had a dispute about a baby. They brought their case before King Solomon because they wanted him to determine the true mother. The women had given birth three days apart.
The second mother rolled on her baby in the middle of the night. She awoke to her dead baby; she then switched her dead baby for the first mother’s live baby. This was the case presented to King Solomon.
Just take a moment
In the case mentioned above, King Solomon took a moment–then the wisdom of God led him to ask for a sword. Although he never intended to harm the baby, through wisdom he knew that threatening to cut the baby in half would reveal the heart of the true mother.
As a result, it did because the second mother wanted the baby split in half. Sadly, she was all for cutting the baby in half because she had no emotional ties. Whereas the true mother was so distraught that she begged for her baby’s life. And told him to just give her baby to the other woman.
You see, King Solomon discerned that the mother who begged for the child’s life was indeed the birth mother. Soon thereafter, news spread through Israel and throughout the land that King Solomon had wisdom from God. That gained him great respect and honor. Again, no other king had the wisdom, knowledge, and wealth of King Solomon.
Big Sister Wisdom
Talk to God about everything that concerns you. He listens! He cares!
One thing I know to be true is when I talk to God about the happenings in my life, he gives me direction. Now I can admit, it is not always immediate—but His directions always come. And He never leads me wrong. When I think about the mistakes I’ve made over the years, those mistakes would have been avoided if I had but listened to God. So, we need direction from God because he can reveal real solutions.
Don’t let anything threaten your peace or stop your growth.
Equally important, is paying attention to red flags. The truth is often revealed if we heed the warnings. Sadly, sometimes the truth is right before our face in but a lot of times we want to block the truth out. When we look at relationships if you’re in a relationship that’s threatening your peace, stopping your growth, or stopping you from doing things that you feel like you want to do or need to do. That is a control issue–red flags are there and one needs to pay attention to that.
Moreover, when one spots red flags, it is crucial to not allow emotion to cloud one’s judgment. Don’t stay in a situation that harms you spiritually, emotionally, and or physically.
Don’t be anxious about anything
In general, most people have experienced negative results from rushing into things. Hence the saying ‘hindsight is 20/20,’ when we make a mistake. Think about it–after you’ve made the mistake, you later take a look back. Essentially, when looking back over past mistakes, you can see the red flags that were waving at you so clearly. But while you were in the situation, you were blinded to those red flags.
For that reason, it is important for one to not be anxious for anything. In my opinion, a God-listening heart will produce the wisdom needed to avoid bad decisions that sometimes lead to destructive mistakes.
Consult wise counsel
What is wise counsel? Well, your wise counsel could be a mentor or persons you highly respect. It’s even better if those persons have a listening ear to God and are led by His Holy Spirit. If so, then they will give you the best directions you could receive because the answers come from God.
Know this, God uses people who are willing vessels to pour into others. On the other hand, be mindful of people who have hidden agendas and seek to stir you off your God-given path. God wants the best for you, therefore that is why He wants us to seek His wisdom about everything.
#TheSpreadHopeChallenge
Lastly, this week we’re going to start something we call The Spread Hope Challenge. Our show is about spreading hope everywhere. So, since we’re talking about wisdom, for this weeks’ challenge if you are an older person, be willing to share some wisdom with a younger person. And if you are a younger person, don’t be afraid to ask an older person for some wisdom nuggets, that may help you to avoid unnecessary mistakes. So, if you do The Spread Hope Challenge, let us know on social media. @wershetalks #TheSpreadHopeChallenge
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Credits
Music by Joakim Karud
