Mensa Otabil - The Companions of Wisdom
- Watch
- Donate
Proverbs chapter 8, verse 12: «I, wisdom, dwell with prudence and find out knowledge and discretion.»
Wisdom doesn’t just walk alone. You can’t simply say, «I’m so wise,» while other aspects of your behavior are not wise. It’s like the old story of Anansi, who supposedly gathered all the knowledge or wisdom of the world into a pot and decided to climb a tree to hide the pot. That action of trying to hide wisdom in a tree betrays a lack of wisdom. When a person claims to have wisdom, there must be accompanying traits that demonstrate their wisdom, and here three of them are presented. The first one is prudence. If a person has wisdom, they will be prudent. Prudence simply means sensible or measured behavior.
A person who possesses wisdom has control over their behavior. They are sensible, they are measured, and they do not merely make a lot of noise without producing results. To be prudent is to manage what you have well. It is the ability to manage the little that you have so that you can grow it.
Wisdom can take what is small and make it big. Wisdom can take what is insignificant and make it significant. Why? Because wisdom is prudent and takes good care of what it has. It is faithful in little so that it can be faithful in much. Therefore, if we are wise people, one of the things we must learn is to be faithful in the little things that God gives us to do. It may be teaching a Sunday school class or doing something in church. It may involve tasks in your office that may not seem like much -sweeping here, cleaning there. But prudence requires that you manage the little things well so that you can manage the big things well. So, prudence is a friend of wisdom.
Second is knowledge. Knowledge, in this context, means taking note of things and learning. Knowledge is a friend of wisdom. Knowledge is not just about the accumulation of facts, as many times we think that memorization is a sign of knowledge. No, knowledge involves paying attention and observation. Being observant means seeing things and taking note of them. When something is out of place, you can recognize that it is out of place. A knowledgeable person pays attention, takes note, and learns. A wise person is one who pays attention. Even when they make a mistake, they learn their lessons and move on. That is wisdom. That is wisdom and knowledge -paying attention. Don’t let your mistakes just be mistakes. Let your mistakes be lessons. Let your past be lessons. That is what knowledge does: it helps you pay attention so that you can note something and learn from it. Knowledge is a friend of wisdom. A wise person will be prudent; they will manage things well and be knowledgeable. They pay attention.
Thirdly, wisdom comes with discretion. Discretion means making good choices. Discretion means that you have options; you have the permission to do something, but you do not abuse that permission. It is like someone saying, «Oh, come to my house. The house is yours.» You enter their house and act as if it is truly yours, throwing your weight around. That lack of discretion is inappropriate. Discretion means you have been given permission and access. Everything is yours, and you can do what you want; however, you apply self-control and decide that, although you can do it, it may not be smart to do so. For example, even if the person has given you their phone number, you might think it’s not wise to call them at that time. That is discretion.
Wisdom requires that we exercise discretion, pay attention, and be prudent by managing the little that we have well. If we are wise, as the Bible teaches us in Proverbs chapter 8, then these activities will accompany our wisdom. May the Lord help each one of us as we seek to live a more fruitful life.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, I want to grow in wisdom. Help me to grow in prudence, knowledge, and discretion in Jesus' name.» Amen. And amen.