Safewise

Proverbs 4:1-9

¹My children, listen when your father corrects you. Pay attention and learn good judgment, ²for I am giving you good guidance. Don’t turn away from my instructions. ³For I, too, was once my father’s son, tenderly loved as my mother’s only child. ⁴My father taught me, “Take my words to heart. Follow my commands, and you will live. ⁵Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them. ⁶Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you. ⁷Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment. ⁸If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will honor you. ⁹She will place a lovely wreath on your head; she will present you with a beautiful crown.”

Proverbs 2:1-8

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

As I opened up my Bible this morning, I read these scriptures. I have read these scriptures before, but never have they jumped off the page at me like they did this morning. So many of the promises of God are condensed in these verses, and these promises are given to us when we seek wisdom. Proverbs 2:6 reminds us that the Lord our God is the One who grants us wisdom. If we are seeking wisdom, then we are seeking God. Do you see that when we seek wisdom, God also gives us good judgment, knowledge, understanding, a treasure of common sense, greatness, honor, a shield of protection, guarding, direction, joy and safety?

When we seek wisdom, God gives us good guidance that teaches us good judgment. Good judgment is mentioned in verses 1, 5 and 7 of Proverbs 4 as something to be learned through instruction, something we should not turn our backs on and something to be developed. When we are learning something, the best way to develop a clearer understanding of what we have learned is to practice. When my children are given homework, they often do not understand why they have to do so many of the same type of problems. When I explain to them that as they practice the same type of problem, it will help solidify their understanding, they begrudgingly do their homework and then thank me later. When they come back to me later and tell me they have made a good grade on the test because they really understand the problems, I then tell them how proud I am of them for their hard work. Just as I am proud of my children and honor them with my excitement and joy, these verses remind us that as we practice good judgment, we will be honored by God.

Let’s remember that we should walk daily in His presence. Over and over we are admonished to desire and seek wisdom and to develop good judgment. When we seek to fulfill desires that are not balanced with God’s desire for us, it is then that we open ourselves up to bad judgment. Over the years, the only time I have found myself in hot water has been when I have exercised bad judgment because I forgot to seek God. This not only did not honor God, but I received no honor for my behavior or thought processes. When we seek God and walk with integrity before Him daily, He will guard and protect us, and He will fill our hearts with wisdom, knowledge and joy.

In His Grace!