Putting the I into WISDOM
The Christians who have most influenced me for good have had a fully functional familiarity with the book of Proverbs. They were (and are) able to take their considerable knowledge and apply it to their lives, providing both godly examples and godly advice. Join with me as each of us endeavors to put the I into WISDOM. Let us seek to exemplify God’s wisdom in our daily lives. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
As we saw yesterday, fewer words are often better than more words. It is for our own good to limit our language; it is also often better for others. Proverbs 11:12-13 says, “He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace. A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.” Lack of wisdom leads to despising others (who are, of course, created in the image of God), causing a torrent of words that can damage any relationship; married couples have to be especially careful in this regard. The word “neighbour” should be understood as “friend”; we must not push away people who are close to us by letting our lungs be louder than our love. Obviously, being a “talebearer” – a gossip – is always wrong, but it is precisely those people whom we know well that we know “secrets” about. May we be grateful that Jesus, our closest friend, does not reveal our secrets, and may we remember the following pithy adage: “Least said, soonest mended.”