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.)
We have seen in the last two days that, if we are wise, we will know both that what we say matters and that how we speak matters. As if that combination were not challenging enough, we must also learn that when we speak matters. Proverbs 27:2 commands, “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.” Praise, by definition, must come from someone else. Even if we feel that we deserve more attention, it is never time to be self-aggrandizing. We can contrast the chief rulers of Jesus’ day and John the Baptist. These leaders “loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43). Conversely, John, comparing himself to Jesus, said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). We must beware of self-praise and of seeking the praise of men (and, as we have studied previously, the sickly sweet praise that is flattery). Despite all of these problems with praise, there is a time to be complimentary, for “a word spoken in due season, how good it is” (Proverbs 15:23). We need wisdom to know when to be complimentary, when to speak reprovingly (Proverbs 26:5 – “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit”), and when to be silent (Proverbs 26:4 – “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him”). Our task is not easy, but it is not impossible; God’s wisdom is available to each of us (James 1:5).