“Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.” (Prov. 9:9) If there is one thing that I have learned in just the last few years, it is that everything I have learned has not come from me.
I may be reading a little more, studying the Scriptures a little more in depth, and my beautiful wife reads a devotional for us each morning and evening, but that has not made me wise. At the most, if it is possible to say so, all this has increased my faith, for “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) But the wisdom is not mine. If any of the individuals of my past were to meet me today, they would recognize me by appearance only, but the man speaking to them would not be the one they remember.
As I have stated before, I do not preplan these letters, I have perhaps a word or sentence go through my mind, just something brief perhaps an hour at the most before I sit down with my pen and notepad, and I begin to write, so I can take no credit for what is written here each time, but I will most definitely take the blame if any of it is ever incorrect.
The Word of God is a sharp, two-edged sword, (Heb. 4:12) and we must always remember that, swords are not to be used to spread butter and jam, their purpose is to inflict damage, and that is what the Word of God does, it convicts, it reprimands, it brings doubt to pride, and cuts away all that a man believes himself to be. Wisdom is almost identical, I do not believe that the Lord will give and continue to reveal wisdom to anyone who will not humble themselves before Him, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” (Prov. 4:7) It is what gives us the knowledge of God, (Prov. 2:6) and God in some respects is very stingy in what He is willing to reveal about Himself to some individuals.
In this life, wisdom, and the understanding that comes with it, is as close as we can get to the Lord, He must reveal Himself to us in truth, we can search all our lives and not see one part of Him if He does not reveal it to us, and so humility is the first step towards wisdom. At the same time, another item must be kept in front of us at all times, and I do not believe that I can stress this enough, the word Sovereign. Omnipotent, infinite, eternal, self-sustaining, all of the truths of Almighty God, words that hold a singular meaning, that “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me.” (Isaiah 45:5)
I have also mentioned this in the past, usually as a humorous anecdote, but in reality, there is little humor in it. “For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” (Eccl. 1:18) This is a fact, I can testify to it, and I more than likely have been given less wisdom than any man ever has. The grief and sorrow that comes from wisdom and sorrow is palatable, it is almost constant, not because of the knowledge of the Lord, but because of the knowledge of sinful man, of a world that lies in sin, (1 John 5:19) of nearly an entire race who believe themselves to be wise but know only of the world. (Romans 1:22) They live in the temporal; they strive for personal gain in every form, but not towards the knowledge of God.
To many who claim Christ as Lord, repentance is nothing more than saying “I’m sorry,” their hearts are far from Him, and it pains me deeply when I converse with them, for they are not seeking wisdom, but only to defend their beliefs, even when by the Word of God they have been shown to be incorrect. There is a price to pay for wisdom, the wisdom that only the Lord by His mercies will grant to a man, and it is indeed a heavy price.
If you have not asked for it yet, as the Word says that we can in James 1:5, then I would caution you to read of the holder of all wisdom’s life, long before He walked in the flesh among us. It is to be Christ-like, a fearful thought. “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:3) The prize is worth the price, all who have come before me will attest to that.
