Series: Wisdom That Works
Message: What This Book Accomplishes
Preacher: Jenniffer Ogden
Reflection: Mark Witas
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Jessyka Dooley
Live Beyond: J. Murdock
Live Purpose: Emily Ellis
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Proverbs 1:1-7 in the New Living Translation (NLT). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: Proverbs 1:1 says this: “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.” When we think of wisdom, at least when we think of it from a Biblical perspective, our minds are often drawn to King Solomon. You know, the son of David and Bathsheba.
Some of the things that King Solomon was famous for were: 1) Building a grand temple—a permanent dwelling place- for Israel’s God; 2) almost cutting a baby in half—thank goodness one of the new mother’s caved at the last minute; 3) being a hoarder—of wives and concubines (he reportedly had 300 wives and 700 concubines. A concubine is a housekeeper that you can have sex with, if you want. I don’t think most Christians think this is a good idea anymore); and 4) asking God for wisdom above all else. He was lauded for this and seemingly rewarded for it too.
Solomon was kind of like you and me. He had lots of wisdom that he’d been gifted with through the years, and he had weaknesses that tested that wisdom. I know full well that if I tip a cup up and tap the end of it so that I can get one little piece of chipped ice to fall into my mouth that all the ice will come rushing down and end up in my nose and on my chest. I have that wisdom. Do I always act on my wisdom? No. I had ice on my chest yesterday. Solomon was like you and me.
Solomon knew that the better course of wisdom would be to avoid fraternizing with the gods of the women he so strategically married. But wisdom unapplied is about as valuable as a roller skates on a matinee.
The application of wisdom to our lives—and to Solomon’s life for that matter—requires a patient taking in of our circumstances. It takes prayer. It begs us to seek the wisdom of those who have gone before us. It often requires the practice of smaller wise decisions that lead us to a grander opportunity.
Solomon’s great downfall, it would seem, came about when he decided to live by his ambitions, feelings and emotions rather from his values and his collective wisdom. One has to wonder what could have become of the nation of Israel if he would have led from a place of wisdom vs. ambition.
Recalibrate: Think of a time when ambition replaced wisdom in your life. What were the consequences?
Respond: Pray that God will take selfish ambition from your life and replace it with patience and wisdom.
Research: Read 1 Kings 11.
Remember: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” (Proverbs 1:7).
Mark Witas is the lead pastor at Sunnyside Adventist Church in Portland, Oregon.
If you can, take your child to a playground today. Yesterday afternoon, I spent a large chunk of time watching our two-year-old granddaughter climbing over a playground designed for much older children. Her determination to climb the rope ladder was impressive, and my fear of her falling was overwhelming. Needless to say, I stayed within catching distance. I pray for wisdom to know when to stay and when to go, when to help and when to hang about ready to catch. Exploring the wonders of this world is such an adventure for our children. Help them explore and discover the wisdom of experience. There is no place we can fall or go that our Heavenly Father cannot catch or find us there. Go enjoy, explore, and grow together in wisdom.
What do you think it means to be wise? Being wise is more than being really really smart or knowing everything in the entire world. Being wise means that you take a moment to think silently, or even out loud about your words and actions. But, do you think being wise means that you are perfect and that you never make any mistakes? Absolutely not! Even though Solomon was the wisest person in the whole world, he was still learning. Sometimes he made mistakes, and sometimes he made really good decisions just like you and I. Wisdom also means that you are willing to learn from other people who want to help you grow. Who are some of the people in your life who want to help you grow and become more wise? Write them a thank you note! Being wise also means telling people you love how much you love them.
I used to have a pretty hefty collection of collectible baseball cards that I kept in a tub inside my closet. The very best of those cards would be set aside and placed inside thin plastic sleeves in a binder that sat high on my shelf. I figured out which cards would sit in a bucket and which would make it to the binder by using the Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide. Every time I tore open a new pack, I would shuffle through the glossy options and pick out the ones that looked expensive. Then, matching the card company, the name of the player, and the year of the card, I would check and see if it was in the guidebook. If it was, then all I needed to do was read the little number next to the card to find out how much it was worth. If that number was two dollars or higher, it went in the binder. These cards mostly just sat on the shelf. But sometimes, my friends would ask to trade cards. That’s when things got interesting . . .
In Proverbs 1:3, Solomon says that in order to be wise, someone has to “receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity.”
When my friends came by to trade cards, it helped to know the value in the Beckett Guide before making any trades. Because if I knew the fair price for my card and their card, then I knew whether it was a fair deal. The same holds true for dealing with people. If you know what is good and fair when dealing with your friends, and keep in mind that they are valuable to God, then you know how to be a wise and good friend.
What do you think you would be worth in God’s Guide to Humanity? What would your friends be worth? How about your enemies? What can you do to treat people in a way that honors how God sees these people?
I have found the best people in life to get advice from are those who have made mistakes and learned from them. They are often the wisest people because they have grown through the process and have become more refined human beings. When I need relationship advice, pointers on what to do with my life, or solid direction, I rarely go to my peers. Instead, I seek out people who are older than me and who have lived more life because they are full of wisdom. Out of all the books in the world to read about making wise, good, common sense decisions, Proverbs is perhaps the best book to read. I say this because the author Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. He was wise because he literally asked God for wisdom, but I believe that it wasn’t only God’s gift to him that made him wise. It was also life experiences that made him wise. However, life experiences will only make you wise if you learn from them. And that is what we see Solomon do towards the end of his life. He was able to take his mistakes and grow from them, thus becoming an even wiser human being. What forms us into wiser human beings is our ability to allow God to take our mistakes and cultivate wisdom from them. How can you take your mistakes and use them to become wise?
Zan Long is GRC director for faith development for ages 0-17. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and serves at her local church in nearby Kellyville.
Jessyka Dooley is assistant youth director for the Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Denver, Colorado.
J. Murdock is associate pastor at Boulder Adventist Church in Boulder, Colorado, where he focuses on youth and young adult ministry.
Emily Ellis is a senior studying theology at Walla Walla University in College Place, Washington.