: What does wisdom look like? It might look different to what you think.
PROVERBS 15:32
Those who disregard discipline despise themselves,
but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.
When it comes to thinking about wisdom my thinking goes straight to some old man in some kind of cloak, grey beard down to his knees, who has an answer for everything. He has this profound insight into every situation and knows exactly what’s really going on in life. Like Gandalf. Or Yoda. Wisdom, we can think, is for those who have everything together.
But Proverbs repeats over and over that wisdom is found in realising you don’t have all the answers. Wisdom belongs to those who know their limitations and have the humility to learn and be corrected when they go wrong. According to Proverbs the person who won’t listen because they can’t accept or believe they’re wrong is the fool.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Understanding God is God and I am not. Wisdom begins not with reaching up and finding some secret profound insight inaccessible to others. It begins with receiving the truth about God that he’s made clear and accessible in the cross of Jesus. It begins with understanding that in that weakest of things is God’s wisdom. It begins with finding security in Jesus’ wisdom instead of your own; in bowing the knee to him every day and letting that cross shape every part of our lives.
Head: Why do people who disregard discipline despise themselves? How does Jesus show us true wisdom at the cross?
Heart: Are you someone who finds it hard to admit you’re wrong or to accept correction? Why do you think that is? How might considering the cross of Jesus help you in this area?
Hands: How might you act next time you make a mistake or receive a correction (even if you don’t agree with it) in light of the cross of Jesus?
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you that you have shown true wisdom in the cross – a wisdom that sees me reconciled to you despite my sin. Please forgive me for when I think wisdom is found in pride, when I have a higher opinion of myself than I ought and am not humble towards others. Please grant me the wisdom to accept correction when I am in the wrong and respond graciously when I’m not. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
A song to listen to: The perfect wisdom of our God
Ryan Dehnert
This Grow Daily was originally posted as part of the Must See Passages series in 2016. During the School Holidays we take the opportunity to look back at the best of Grow Dailys over the years.
