The Book of Proverbs promises a long life and abundant welfare for people who incorporate its wisdom into their lives.
My child, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
For length of days and years of life
and abundant welfare they will give you. (Proverbs 3.1-2)
Incorporating God’s wisdom into our lives is an ongoing journey. It requires faith, commitment, and a willingness to grow spiritually.
What can we do to create an atmosphere where God’s wisdom becomes increasingly a part of our lives? Here are a few suggestions.
(1) Take time to listen: Dallas Willard frequently asks his readers to consider whether they believe God knows what is best for their lives. If we believe that God is the wisest being of all, he certainly has information for us.
He is willing to communicate it to us if we’ll just pause long enough to listen.
(2) Study of Scripture: When we marinate meat, it absorbs the flavoring and the tenderness of the marinade. Similarly, when we marinate our lives in God’s Word, it becomes a part of us.
This is especially true when we combine the study of the Bible with prayer for insight and communion with God.
(3) Seek Wise Counsel: Proverbs 15:22 reminds us that “plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers, they succeed.”
As we study the life of Jesus, we’ll notice that everything he did was with other people.
In God’s economy, there are no “Lone Ranger” Christians. We need each other and must be humble enough to receive the counsel of others.
(4) Walk in Wisdom: The journey to wisdom’s door is for the purpose of being taught, and the teaching is for the purpose of walking.
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 2.3)
“Unless God teaches, we cannot walk, and unless we come, He cannot teach” (John Oswalt) .
Those who will not leave their own self-sufficiency and come to God cannot learn God’s wisdom. However, the learning is for the purpose of living; it is not an end in itself.
The Essence of Wisdom
It makes sense that when we walk in God’s wisdom, we resemble His character.
Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will find favor and high regard
in the sight of God and of people. (Proverbs 3.3-4)
The two words, loyalty, and faithfulness, summarize the essence of God’s character and Wisdom’s commands.
They stand in striking contrast to the selfishness and infidelity of the corrupt.
The same way that we create an atmosphere for God’s wisdom to become more and more a part of our lives can be applied to binding loyalty and faithfulness around our necks and having it written on the tablets of our hearts.
When we receive God’s wisdom and incorporate it into our lives, it will make a difference in how we live.
Paul taught that God’s wisdom will give us the mind of Christ. His attitudes and actions will become evident in our lives.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.
“Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.
“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2.3-5).
People with God’s wisdom incorporated into their inner self will embrace love, humility, forgiveness, generosity, and a genuine concern for the well-being of others.
They will reflect the character of Christ to everyone around them.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross, Whispering Danny, and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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