“Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Proverbs 9:9-10)
Many people these days think that wisdom comes with age, or experience, education, or their inner spirit. Wisdom is deemed to be akin to common sense, or the ability to do the right thing at the right time and in the right manner. But the Bible does not equate wisdom with experience or knowledge. It is not something conveyed by a diploma. Wisdom is a characteristic of God, one which He grants to human beings. And the fundamental aspect of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, a belief that He exists and that He gives us all we need for physical, emotional, and eternal life.
The Book of Proverbs teaches wisdom. The author personifies it as a means of teaching truth and Godliness. He tells us that Wisdom has built her house on 7 pillars. Seven is the number of perfection. This indicates that God’s wisdom is complete. We need nothing more for life and holiness than Almighty God and His word. The humble student recognizes the words of Wisdom and heeds them so that he may discern the truth from lies and make decisions that are godly, not grounded in greed, hatred, anger, or selfishness. The wise person accepts correction, while the wicked are foolish when they reject any reproof.
The choice we have in life is between Wisdom and folly, God and self, life and death, and truth and the illusion created by lies. Making the proper choice is not as easy as it seems for wisdom is accompanied by rebuke and correction that is often hard to accept, while folly seduces with promises of pleasure, fame, and an easy life. The person who scorns correction is a fool who turns on the wise and shuns the Lord. The wise person is humble, willing to accept rebuke, to learn from mistakes, for this leads to spiritual growth, godliness and contentment. The wise person accepts the gospel of grace through faith.