Guest Writer Monday: Samantha!

Today's guest post is by Sam! She is getting ready to go to Alaska! Thanks, Sam, for sharing with us today!


Wisdom is Life

Recently, I have started going through Proverbs. When I was in high school, I remember reading through them in a month – one chapter a day, since there are 31 chapters. I have a few select things I learned from it, but most of the time I tend to overlook Proverbs. A lot of it seems like common sense, I suppose: it’s a compare-and-contrast piece which says that wisdom will make your life more successful and foolishness will bring you to destruction. Got it. Moving on.

But, in rereading it, I have noticed how much the author discusses the issue of life. In 4:22, it says, “For [my words of wisdom] are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.” Then, 8:35-36 tells us, “For whoever finds [wisdom] finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find [wisdom] injures himself; all who hate [wisdom] love death.”

Living in a wise manner does not just make us happy or successful because we aren’t trapped by foolish ways – true wisdom brings us LIFE and HEALING and FAVOR. We are told we are supposed to desire wisdom above material things, such as silver and gold and jewels (8:10-11).

This wisdom, though, is not simply found in the rest of the book. Solomon is not declaring that his own words and proverbs are what will bring us life and success. In 9:10, he points us to the true root of wisdom: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Knowing God, recognizing Who He is and how great He is, will bring us wisdom.

Solomon’s wisdom came from God – when God appeared to him in a dream and asked Solomon what he wanted from Him, Solomon asked for wisdom to govern the Israelites. God was pleased with this request, and gave him “a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you” (1 Kings 3:12). In the same way, as we seek wisdom, we can only receive it from the Lord.

Other wise sayings and proverbs definitely teach us what wise living looks like, but our insight means nothing if it isn’t rooted in the Lord. When Solomon tells us to seek wisdom, to want it more than we want anything else, perhaps he is telling us to seek the Lord above all else, for when we find Him and are rooted in Him, we will have life.