Welcome to another episode of wisdom weekly, hope you’ve been enjoying the weekly updates so far and have been getting some understanding from it that can be applied to your personal life. Today’s topic is titled why wisdom? You may have come across someone who told you something about wisdom; maybe they said to you "you have to be wise" or in our Naija way, "you have to shine your eyes" which means you have to be one step ahead of whatever the situation you are faced with. Even the bible tells us that "wisdom is a principal thing, therefore get wisdom." That means there must be something significant about it.
Wisdom is defined as the quality of having experience, knowledge and sound judgment. Its synonyms are discernment, knowledge, understanding, perception and so on. If you've come across any of these words, then you have had an encounter with wisdom to an extent. For us to lead a successful life here on earth, we need wisdom, not just any wisdom but the wisdom of God. This reminds of the story of Solomon in the Bible; he is often referred to as the wisest man that ever lived (apart from Jesus of course!). Anyway, Solomon had just become king, and God appeared to him in a dream asking him what he wanted, and that He was going to grant his request. Solomon then went ahead to ask God for wisdom, because he figured that to rule a nation successfully, he needed wisdom from God (that was a wise call in and of itself). God was so pleased with him and gave him not only wisdom but riches and fame as well. Solomon was not only the wisest person on earth; he was also the richest and the most famous. People came from the ends of the earth to hear him speak. His thoughts and revelations are recorded in the book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes in the bible. Joseph, another character in the bible, was someone who also had a lot of wisdom. After he had interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, he suggested to Pharaoh that he should find someone who will see to the affairs of the land. And Pharaoh quickly responded saying "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God? in as much as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and as wise as you," and he went ahead to give him the job as Governor over the entire land (Genesis 41:38-40). So I can confidently conclude that if you wanted to lead a successful life, business, career, family, company and whatever the case may be, you need wisdom and the Spirit of God.
Wisdom will protect you from pitfalls in life. A lot of poor decisions people make in life is as a result of lack of wisdom. Sometimes, I may analyze a situation and wonder if the people involved didn't think of the possible outcome before they decided to make that choice. If you read my blog a lot, you may sense that I love crime shows! I feel like in my previous life (I know there is nothing like that, but indulge me for a second) that I was a forensic detective. I have always loved crime shows since I was little. Investigation Discovery is one of my favorite channels to watch. For instance, a guy is in the military, and he is married, and he knows that adultery is frowned upon in his line of duty with severe consequences (in the US at least). He goes ahead, cheats on his wife, and for his wife and his job not to find out, he murders his mistress, so he doesn't lose what he has, and ends up being caught and thrown in prison for the rest of his life. And I am sitting there wondering; didn't you think that there was a high chance of you getting caught for murder? If you get caught, then you are still going to lose your career and possibly your wife, so what was the point? That is why the bible says in Proverbs 5:1-5, “My son, pay attention to my wisdom, lend your ear to understanding, that you may preserve discretion and your lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil, but in the end, she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword, her feet go down to death." So the infidelity, though it may seem “good” in the beginning isn’t worth your life or anyone else’s in the end. Wisdom helps us to analyze things from all angles, and make a wise decision even if it might seem odd at the time, but its rewards gratifying.
If you keep applying wisdom daily to your life, you begin to see beyond the deceit that this life has to offer. You will not be easily swayed by what everyone else is doing, because you have an insight on everything. Wisdom helps you distinguish yourself from others; it calls you to a higher way of living and thinking. It nudges you in the right direction of life and enables you to keep the big picture in mind at all times. That is why the bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. When you decide to honor God first and keep His statutes, wisdom shows up, ready to navigate life with you.
"For whoever finds me (wisdom), finds life and obtains favor from the Lord."
It is also crucial for you to surround yourself with wise people, so you too can grow in your depth of wisdom. People who have experienced different things than you have, people who have learned from their experiences and have grown from them as well, those people will help propel you to the next level in life. You wouldn't have to go down through the same pathway that they have. Wisdom has already experienced and evaluated everything in this life, that is why it cries out, calling everyone to seek understanding (Proverbs 8) because it knows the end from the beginning and wants to save you from a lot of distress.
I hope with this short post, people will be awakened to the fact that wisdom is just as important as life itself, and it is needed to navigate this journey called life. Have a fabulous weekend ahead and do not forget to tell everyone (yes everyone) about Let’s Talk Nation. I love y’all for reading! xoxo