Wisdom for Sale

Proverbs 1: 20 to 33
20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; 21 at the head of the noisy streets [c] she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech: 22 "How long will you simple ones [d] love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? 23 If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you. 24 But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, 25 since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, 26 I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you- 27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. 28 "Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. 29 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, 30 since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, 31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. 32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm."

The picture that comes to mind when we hear ‘Search for wisdom’ is something like, a trek to the Himalayas, meditation, pouring over old books or joining a secret society. Nobody thinks that, wisdom can be found on the dusty, crowded, noisy streets being sold like vegetables in a street market. Yet, that’s what these verses seem to tell us.

People spend their whole life looking for answers. Wisdom, on the other hand, is crying herself hoarse, for people to come to her and learn. People would rather seek for wisdom in all the wrong places, rather than just go to the one person with wisdom, and ask for it. It is no wonder then, that Wisdom mocks us when we end up in trouble.

Everyone wants to be wise, but when wisdom calls they’d rather run away, and call it old fashioned or out dated. The wisdom of the Bible is timeless and it is still calling out to people.

Get Rich Quick

Proverbs 1:10 to 19
10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them. 11 If they say, "Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someone's blood, let's waylay some harmless soul; 12 let's swallow them alive, like the grave, [b]and whole, like those who go down to the pit; 13 we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; 14 throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse"- 15 my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; 16 for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood. 17 How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds! 18 These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves! 19 Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.

It’s not every day that someone comes up and says “hey, let’s go rob someone” or “let’s go and beat up someone and steal their money” not unless you were in a gang that is. So on first glance, these verses seem like advice which is not really relevant to me. After all, I would never think of doing something like robbing a bank or stealing a car.

I’ve heard this a lot of times from my own friends, “hey, what are you so worried about”, “you’re not breaking a law”, “everybody does it”, “Just once won’t make a difference”, “nobody will notice a thing”. Things like, adding a little more than you actually spent for on your office reimbursement form or changing data in reports to make your final report look good, or exaggerating facts during appraisals. These verses warn us against running after ill-gotten gain.

One of the best examples of greed would be, those mails we get from people asking for help in retrieving millions of dollars of some dead man, with no relatives. There are many foolish people, who actually reply to them and then end up being swindled out of their own money and sometimes put their lives in danger, just because they believed a 'get rich quick scheme'.

The world is full of schemers and conmen, thieves and tricksters; Proverbs warns us that “These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves!” . If it’s not an honest way of earning money then we need to stay away from it.

Fathers and Mothers

Proverbs 1:8, 9- My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother. For they will be a graceful ornament on you head, and chains about your neck.

There are children in the world who are not fortunate enough, to have had parents who could instruct and guide them. As children, growing up under our parents rules always seemed like a pain. We grow rebellious and frustrated at times. It’s only when we are older that we begin to see the wisdom of their words.

These verses are most obvious and direct, something which every culture and religion in the world will agree upon. However, the question is, how many parents today take the time, effort, and trouble to instruct their children? There are parents who are so busy with their jobs and their own problems, that they have little time to spare for their children; instead, they depend on television and schools to teach their children what they ought to be teaching them at home.

The problem today is, not of children disobeying their parents, but of parents themselves, who do not know what is right and wrong, and are therefore unable to teach their children. When I say ‘right and wrong’ I do not mean things like “don’t play with matches" or "do your homework” sort of thing. Rather I mean, answering questions like “Who is God?” or “where do we go after we die?” Or teaching them to be kind, generous, honest and truthful; teaching them how to prioritize the important things in life.

If Parents don’t seek wisdom, who is going to instruct Children?

Does fear make you wise?

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Job 28:28 And he said to man, ''The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.' "

The bible keeps telling us that fearing God is the beginning of wisdom. But what does it really mean to fear God? I guess it would depend on the meaning of the word 'fear' in these verses. To be precice according to a dictionary it would mean "to have reverential awe of". So, how does this kind of 'Fear' actually make a person wise and knowlegeable?

A person who truly fears God would be a person who would naturally consider not doing anything that would displease God. Take the example of a small boy, who has been taught by his parents to always look both ways before crossing and not talk to strangers. This boy as he grows will always keep these instructions in mind not because he is afraid of something bad happening to him, because children don’t really understand most of the rules we give them, but he will listen because his parents told him to and he is more afraid of the consequence of disobeying his parents more than the fact that a car may hit him or a stranger may kidnap him. Most of us as kids didn't understand the need for the rules are parents gave us and yet followed them eventually helping us to grow into the people we are today.

In the same way we may conclude that following the Lord’s commands would without a doubt lead us to making wiser and smarter decisions. The first thing the fear of the Lord does is give you a moral conscience. So you find yourself in everyday situations choosing right over wrong, good over bad. Not breaking traffic rules, not lying or cheating, not trying the bribe government officials, not trying to purposefully hurt someone; Easier said than done isn’t it. We look at the world around us and see that it’s not the good but the wicked that prosper. The powerful corrupt politicians, the rich land grabbing business tycoon, the criminals who get away with murder and rape, or even the everyday common people like the person who pushed you to get into the bus first, the greedy auto driver, the colleague who lied to get a promotion, all these people seem to be getting ahead in life while goody two shoes you is left feeling like a loser.

So is does fearing God really make you wise? The book of proverbs is filled with verses about the righteous and the wicked. It always predicts ultimate doom for those who do not fear God and blessing to those who fear him. With closer examination of the lives of those who do evil we may find that the book of Proverbs is not wrong after all. Further studies on Proverbs will show us that.

Now, we need to remember that Fear of the Lord is not just a moral compass to help you decided and choose between Good and Bad or Right and Wrong. It is just the beginning. It sets us on the path to wisdom and knowledge unlike anything the world can give us.

The Search for Wisdom begins

Proverbs 1: 1to 6 (King James Version)
1The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; 2To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; 4To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. 5A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: 6To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

I always thought that wisdom is something you get when you pray for it. You pray and ask God for wisdom and he gives you wisdom. It’s true that God grants us wisdom when we ask for it but what I didn’t realize is that wisdom is not just something that comes to your head when you ask for it. A person doesn’t become wise just by praying or sitting under a tree. You have to study, you have to search, you have to experience and you have practice it to truly become wise.
So where do we begin our search for wisdom? What better place to begin than starting with God’s word. When God said he will give us wisdom (James 1:5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.) he says he gives it generously, all we have to do is take a little trouble to look in the right place for it.