Wisdom

"My son, (or daughter) do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck." -Proverbs 3:22

Wisdom is valuable. The Bible says it's worth more that rubies (Prov 3:15). True wisdom is mostly caught versus taught. It may be thought to come with age, but in reality, wisdom doesn't necessarily have to do with age. (Job 32:7&8) In Eastern cultures, wisdom is highly sought after, and those who are said to have wisdom, are very respected. 

There are good reasons why we should seek after wisdom, especially in our modern age where it seems scarce. Consider the Message version of the above verse:

"Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life; don't for a minute lose sight of them. They'll keep your soul alive and well, they'll keep you fit and attractive. You'll travel safely, you'll neither tire nor trip. You'll take afternoon naps without a worry, you'll enjoy a good night's sleep. No need to panic over alarms or surprises, or predictions that doomsday's just around the corner, Because God will be right there with you; he'll keep you safe and sound." -Prov 3:21-26

Those are quite some promises! We may read the above verses and think, "Oh well, that's nice - there's some great stuff there." But, what exactly does it mean to have wisdom?
Here are a few examples:

• Wisdom with money means saving - and not spending all of our money or living above our means. (Prov 30:25, 6:8, 13:7, 13:11, Proverbs 13:22)
• It's fulfilling our obligations. (Rom 13:8) It's honoring God with our money. (Prov 3:9)
• Wisdom is keeping good company (Proverbs 12:26, 4:14, 13:20)
• Wisdom is working diligently (Proverbs 10:4)
• Wisdom is taking good advice (Proverbs 13:10, 11:14, 13:1, 13:10, 15:22)
• Wisdom is being humble (Proverbs 8:13, 15:25)
• Wisdom is heeding correction (Proverbs 15:32)
• Wisdom is having self-control (Prov 16:32)
• Wisdom is not putting yourself in compromising situations (Prov 2:16)
• Wisdom is thinking about what we say before we say it (Proverbs 12:23, 13:3)
• Wisdom is speaking in love versus contempt (Proverbs 15:4, 15:18)
• Wisdom is fearing God, and listening to His voice in our lives. (Proverbs 1:7, 16:3)

Living a spiritual life is practical too - meaning there is fruit to back up our beliefs. Do you hold wisdom close to you?