Proverbs 1:1-3

In every bookshop and railway station bookstall you’ll find books with catchy titles such as How to Stay Happy and Healthy, How to Live a Long Life, or How to Thrive in Retirement. In the book of Proverbs, we meet an ancient version of these books. What fascinates me is that the issues have hardly changed at all. The preoccupation of humankind, throughout the ages, has been to live peacefully and happily and to enjoy good and peaceful relationships. The writer of Proverbs has a very clear idea of where such a life is to be found, and his answer will differ from most of the contemporary titles we see in bookshops. For him, the key to a happy and successful life is wisdom, and true wisdom can only be found in God.

Wisdom is a rather grand word. I suspect that none of us would dare to describe ourselves as wise. But wisdom is what we all need. We have endless decisions to make, and they all need to be made well, not just for ourselves but for the people around us, too. The book of Proverbs makes it clear that the foundation stone for our thinking needs to be our relationship with God. Solomon is concerned about every aspect of our lives and so the proverbs are incredibly down to earth. He writes about the loans we take out; our relationship with our children and neighbours; the way we speak to one another; our ability to resist laziness and so on. Everything matters to God and so his desire is to give us the wisdom that we need.

In the New Testament, we learn that God made Jesus to be wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). Therefore, as we get to know Jesus better, we will find God’s wisdom for everyday living and for the practical challenges that we face.

QUESTION
In what situations are you particularly needing wisdom at the moment?

PRAYER
Loving God, thank you that you are so willing to share your wisdom with me as I open my life to you. Amen

Released on 1 Jul 2023