Seeking out Wisdom

 Folly (lack of good sense, foolishness) as opposed to wisdom (wise with the ability to impart good judgement to any given circumstance). God gave wisdom to Solomon, he was gifted with knowledge, and an ability to understand. Now, considering both options what should we pursue, wisdom or folly? It would be foolish to assume we haven’t walked as fools somewhere along life's journey. To be honest I am tired of the folly that surrounds my life. We tend to see foolishness as a small thing at times. But it has dire consequences in eternity. Any selfish decision that looks to gratify the flesh is folly.

 

Every decision that is not focused on the will of God our Father is folly in one form or another. No matter how you slice and justify an action if we are the sole beneficiaries of a particular action, then we need to rethink our understanding of wisdom. Let me qualify that statement, it must be read in the context of Romans 12:1-2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Therefore everything outside of this mindset would fall into the follies zone.

 

Any action outside God's will is laced with folly, even if we have our children's interests at heart at the expense of a God-first mentality. When we use the systems of the world, we find security in mankind’s ideals, not the wisdom of God, and yes you can take that as far as you like. We have a natural tendency to justify the actions we take whilst looking for acknowledgements along the way. We call wisdom financial security at the expense of the will of God, the truth be told that is simply folly dressed up in branded gear.

 

Ask yourself the question, how can I obtain wisdom? How can you qualify to be gifted wisdom? Buckle up! It all starts with the fear of God. Like any journey has its beginnings, so too, wisdom begins with the fear of God in our lives. Judgement is coming, that is set in stone, and God has been extremely clear on that. Every sin committed needs to be accounted for. God is a holy God, and did you know? He can't LIE! It's impossible! 

 

Sins of every kind have their benefits, they bring temporal relief or satisfaction. Take a bribe and that money brings value whilst it lasts. But that action will eventually need to be judged. Fornication or adultery has the same results, a fleeting moment of pleasure but judgment is coming. Sodom and Gomorrah were laced with homosexuality and the wrath of God annihilated all, save Lot and some of his family. The list is endless, however, nothing in our lives will change if we do not hold a reverence “A fear of God” in our understanding, wisdom will continue to elude us.

 

When we pray remember the Lord Jesus’ instruction, the very first point is to give reverence to God and hallow HIS NAME! He has a plan for the universe, he has a plan for the angels and mankind and to be more specific, he has a plan for you. The script for all of this was written before creation came into existence. Every “t” crossed and “i” dotted. Stop reading and think about how mind-blowing that is. It may be time to put our self-opinioned sentiments aside and bask in God’s brilliance. As if we know anything…

 

However, I do know this, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and so if it is wisdom you are after, this would be a good place to start.

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Working Notes

Question; “From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?” – Answer; “And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

·         Psa_111:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

·         Pro_1:7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

·         Pro_15:33  The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

·         Pro_9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Godly fear is the beginning of wisdom

·         To initiate wisdom in our lives we must start with the fear of God and his judgements.

·         Why? Because it's only God who can save us from ourselves and we need wisdom to overcome sin in our lives… Do you need to be saved from yourself?

·         Without the correct understanding (our view of sin) wisdom will elude us.

·         Interestingly enough Solomon used sin to learn this lesson!!!!!! Ecc 2:1  I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. 

·         The “lust of the flesh” was let loose in his life if I understand correctly.

·         Ecc 2:10  And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. 

·         Ecc 2:13  Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 

·     I have not learnt this lesson yet, but by the grace of God, He is opening my eyes, and I am starting to learn. There is more gain in wisdom than folly. So, what does that mean for me?

·     Although sin, the breach of God's laws brings satisfaction, it is but for a season, lust lasts until it doesn’t. Satisfaction lasts until it doesn’t and then what of pride? That seems to top it all and lasts the longest. Sin is everything that personifies Satan and the pleasures of sin are the fruit of sin. A tree of a sinful kind when cultivated produces its types of fruit, “sex, drugs and rock n roll”. Every sin can somehow be tied into that mentality. But the beloved disciple John puts it best; “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” 2John:16  

·     But remember it all springs from the father of lies, the devil. He is the father of sin, he tempted Eve. And he convinced one-third of the angels to follow him and they were banished from heaven. There is so much we don’t know, the details behind the curtain. But God our beloved Father has given us eyes to see, I bless his Holy name, Amen and Amen!

·         2Ch 1:11  God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, 

Conclusion

·         Without believing God will judge us for our sinful behaviour we will always err on the side of folly.

·         Without the fear of God’s awesomeness in the context of his wrath, we will always look to hide in the dark instead of concluding that light is gain. That is why sins of that nature are referred to as secret sins. The outburst of anger is plain to see but hidden thoughts and concealed actions are committed behind the curtain and yet they too will be judged.

·         However if we continue to live in darkness it is obvious to conclude that we haven’t learnt that there is more to gain with wisdom than the pleasure of folly.

·         To action wisdom in our lives we need to see its gain for our lives and conclude that there is more gain in wisdom than folly and that it is better to walk in the light than in darkness.

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone