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.)
One trait that is decidedly unwise is hastiness. In the book of Proverbs, the word “hasty” is used in reference to temper, promises, judgments, decisions, actions, and the acquisition of wealth – all in a negative way. Proverbs 29:20 adds speech to this list: “Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? There is more hope of a fool than of him.” This verse is a stern rebuke of the rash speaker. Throughout Proverbs, there are only two categories of man lower than the “fool”: “a man wise in his own council” (Proverbs 26:12) and a hasty speaker. A calm, careful, thoughtful man recognizes the danger of hasty speech: in fact, one synonym for “hasty” is “devil-may-care.” A Christian should not have a devil-may-care attitude about anything! God cares about what we say; may we have a God-may-care approach to our words.