THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM

THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM

I’m sure we all know people who are naturally wise. They just seem to have a very solid sense of what will work to the positive and what won’t. They exhibit an uncanny plethora of common sense and seem to be able to make good choices and good decisions that keep them out of trouble. Jesus told a parable about a man like this. The man wasn’t a good and honest person, but he was wise.

 

“Now Jesus was also saying to the disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager [of his estate], and accusations [against this man] were brought to him, that this man was squandering his [master’s] possessions. So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management [of my affairs], for you can no longer be [my] manager.’

 

“The manager [of the estate] said to himself, ‘What will I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig [for a living], and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from the management, people [who are my master’s debtors] will welcome me into their homes.’

 

“So he summoned his master’s debtors one by one, and he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of [olive] oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’

 

“And his master commended the unjust manager [not for his misdeeds, but] because he had acted shrewdly [by preparing for his future unemployment]” (Luke 16:1-8 AMP).

 

The KJV puts verse 8 this way: “And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely.”

 

Some people seem to have this kind of worldly wisdom already, and I have no idea where they got it. But then there are people like me who drew the short end of the stick when it came to worldly wisdom. My guardian angels must have been very busy, because, unlike the manager that Jesus talked about, I didn’t make many wise decisions as a young person, and even into adulthood, I made a lot of stupid choices. I’ve done my best to do God’s will, and He’s given me tremendous wisdom in so many situations, but there’s always more to learn.

 

A week or so ago, Kathy Stiles shared some insight on wisdom that changed my life. She posted The Passion Version’s translation of Ephesians 1:17a: “I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom.” Then she went on: “The book of Proverbs came to mind because of the subject of WISDOM throughout the book. I then recalled that King Solomon wrote most of the proverbs. And what is Solomon best known for? He received wisdom and riches above all others, for all time.”

 

Solomon also wrote the book of Ecclesiastes and The Song of Solomon, so how much wisdom can we also learn from these two books?

 

Though we’ve read the Bible many times and gone to the Lord in prayer for wisdom, I can see that it would really benefit us to take a closer look at these writings of the wisest king ever. I believe that in doing this, we will definitely be asking and allowing God to impart into our lives—to our daily choices and decisions—even greater wisdom than we’ve ever experienced before.

 

Love, Carolyn