Seek After Wisdom and Knowledge

“To know wisdom and instruction to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity, to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth—Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” –Proverbs 1:1-7 (ESV).

Solomon opens the book of Proverbs with the above-stated introduction.  In it he makes clear that persons should seek after wisdom and knowledge, necessary to living a worthwhile life.  And such a pursuit is certainly highly recommended to those who are in positions of leadership, whether in the work force or in governmental positions.  I like the way Solomon gets to the heart of pursuing wisdom.  We may have instruction to hear, proverbs, wise sayings and riddles to decipher, but the real crux of pursuing knowledge and wisdom is “The fear of the Lord.”  This is at the core and heart of the quest for wisdom.  To reverence and hold God in His place of Sovereignty is to recognize His importance in the affairs of men.  He cares about the areas of knowledge we pursue.  We can waste our time and energy on trivial pursuits or we can decide to pursue knowledge that will be helpful and fulfilling.

It may be good to note a distinction between knowledge and wisdom.  Although closely tied together, ‘knowledge’ focuses on what we can learn of the world and all that is in it.  As we learned in school, there are many branches of knowledge: science, mathematics, reading, writing, our list could go on.  Wisdom, on the other hand, is an understanding and the acquired skills for applying and using the knowledge we learn.  We might distinguish them as knowledge being the facts w learn and wisdom being the ability to apply the facts in ways that will make our lives richer and more fulfilled.  Dr. Roy Zuck gave this definition of wisdom:  “Wisdom means being skillful and successful in one’s relationships and responsibilities; observing and following the Creator’s principles of order in the moral universe.” [Biblical Theology of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody, 1991, p. 232]. 

When I think of some of our American leaders of the past who have demonstrated both knowledge and wisdom in their leadership style,  and who seem to have begun their accrual of wisdom with the “the fear of the Lord” as admonished in Proverbs 1:7, these examples come to mind:  In the extreme weather and hardships at Valley Forge during the American Revolution, George Washington knelt in the snow and prayed for God’s help.  He was not afraid of losing face by humbling himself, praying and calling upon the name of the Lord.  I do not know his words in that prayer at Valley Forge, but from his pen is this declaration:  “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God and to obey His will.”  On the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D. C. are inscribed these words from that president’s pen:  “”God who gave us life gave us liberty.  Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?” Abraham Lincoln, in his second inaugural address March 4, 1865, with the nation still torn asunder in war, said:  “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nations’ wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish, a just and a lasting peace, among ourselves and with all nations.”  President John F. Kennedy whose life was cut short by an assassin’s bullet  in 1963 said in his inaugural address in 1961: “With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help but knowing that here on earth, God’s work must truly be our own.”  In seeking wisdom and knowledge, these had at the center of their pursuits the fear of the Lord.

Prayer.  May our country’s leaders and our citizens be unafraid to approach God in awe, seeking the knowledge and strength needed for the tasks at hand.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.