Growing Wise

Read Proverbs 2:1-22

1. My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands.
2. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.
3. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.
4. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
5. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God.
6. For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
8. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him.
9. Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go.
10. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy.
11. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. Proverbs 2:1-11

Modern technology presents new moral dilemmas almost daily: the abortion pill, pornography on the internet, movies and TV, life-support systems, and many others. When these technologies are created, they are often in widespread use before anyone even has the chance to ask, Is this wrong? The quest for broader insight (wisdom) will speak to these specific dilemmas, even when there are no Bible verses that speak directly to the problem at hand.

This chapter contains some advice about becoming wise. It takes more than an afternoon at a good seminar, and much more than an aptitude for common sense. Read Proverbs 2 to discover some of the sources of wisdom and to learn how long the process of getting it can take.

Other lessons to get out of this chapter include how and where to get wisdom and ways in which wisdom can save you.

Some people naturally have more insight than discretion; others have more knowledge than common sense. But no one is born wise. Growing wise doesn’t happen quickly—it happens only through a consistent effort and only through God’s Word. Wisdom comes through reading the Bible on a regular basis, accepting it, and putting its principles into practice.

Seek wisdom daily. Study and apply God’s Word. Ask God to make your searches fruitful—you will be amazed at what you will learn and how your life will change.