Wisdom = knowledge + truth + commonsense

Proverbs 24 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them;
² For their minds devise violence, And their lips talk of trouble.

³ By wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established;
⁴ And by knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches…

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
¹⁸ Or the Lord will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him.

¹⁹ Do not fret because of evildoers Or be envious of the wicked;
²⁰ For there will be no future for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out.

²¹ My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not associate with those who are given to change,
²² For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?

²³ These also are sayings of the wise. To show partiality in judgment is not good.
²⁴ He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” Peoples will curse him, nations will abhor him;
²⁵ But to those who rebuke the wicked will be delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.
²⁶ He kisses the lips Who gives a right answer.

²⁷ Prepare your work outside And make it ready for yourself in the field;
Afterwards, then, build your house.

²⁸ Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, And do not deceive with your lips.
²⁹ Do not say, “Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.”

³⁰ I passed by the field of the sluggard And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense,
³¹ And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles; Its surface was covered with nettles,
And its stone wall was broken down.
³² When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction.
³³ “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,”
³⁴ Then your poverty will come as a robber And your want like an armed man.

In 1 Kings 3, we read the origin of Solomon’s wisdom which he shares through Proverbs:     In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask what you wish Me to give you.”  Then Solomon said, “You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.  Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.  Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted.  So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice,  behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days.  If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.”

Solomon’s wisdom was world renowned in his day. Rulers and their representatives traveled great distances to have an audience with him; to hear his wisdom. There is a difference between wisdom and knowledge. Knowledge comes through learning. You can accumulate great knowledge through reading and studying, but that knowledge can be based on inaccurate information. As new knowledge comes forth old knowledge can become out dated. Wisdom on the other hand is the application of truth. It includes knowledge and common sense and applies it to life. Neither truth nor common sense ever become dated or meaningless, so Solomon’s wisdom is still applicable to our lives.      

 Today’s text begins with this simple statement of wisdom:  Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them;  For their minds devise violence, And their lips talk of trouble.     Since there is little that could be said to argue with the wisdom of that statement, our culture and society today instead make evil relative. Rather than justifying evil, they redefine what is evil, continually changing and moving the lines of what society views as acceptable. Wisdom does not allow that to continue. Both truth and common sense tell us that is not right. In Isaiah 5:20 God  says: Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!     That makes sense. Do you see both the truth and the wisdom in that?

Verses 17-20 of today’s text say:      Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;  Or the Lord will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him.  Do not fret because of evildoers Or be envious of the wicked;  For there will be no future for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out.       There is a natural tendency within us to be glad when those who have hurt us fall, when they get what they deserve. While it is natural, there really is no wisdom in it. Each one of us has done things to hurt other people. When we rejoice in the failure or falling of others it turns God’s attention to us rather than them. Matthew 7:1-2 says:    Do not judge so that you will not be judged.  For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.     While we are not to rejoice at their falling, neither should we be envious of their success. Mortality, death is the great equalizer of men. It is better to build riches in eternity than here where it will be worthless to us.  

Each statement of wisdom contains both truth and commonsense for application. The text says:   I passed by the field of the sluggard And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense,  And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles; Its surface was covered with nettles, And its stone wall was broken down.  When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction.  “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,”  Then your poverty will come as a robber And your want like an armed man.     The entitlement mindset of our current culture and society has negatively impacted entire generations. It has created generational, systemic poverty. There is little drive, little incentive to work hard for things when society tells you that you deserve them, that you are owed those things. Look though at what Solomon noticed about the condition of the property of the one who did not work:    And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles; Its surface was covered with nettles, And its stone wall was broken down.       There does need to be help for those who need it. As compassionate people we need to try to provide for the basic needs of every person. The provision though should be what is needed. A spoiled child who is given everything will squander and abuse what they have. A child who can only be given one toy will treasure it.    Truth and commonsense will tell us that very often when there is no cost there is little value. Those who are given everything tend to not value, appreciate or care for what they are given. Those who themselves must pay a price for what they receive will tend to appreciate and care for what they have. Our culture and our society needs to have ways to encourage those in need to work toward their provision. The text says: poverty will come as a robber. Poverty is more than a lack of wealth, poverty is a mindset that includes a lack of hope that there is an opportunity to rise above the condition of lack. It is the lack of hope which robs people.  Instilling a work ethic and a value of things and creating opportunities for individuals to achieve is the only is the only answer to the poverty in our society. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says:  if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.   That sounds harsh at first glance, but the truth is it is not a reflection of their capacity to work, not everyone can physically work, not everyone has the opportunity currently for a job. The verse is about the willingness to work. No one should think they are entitled to anything if they are unwilling to work.      

Our hope as a culture and society depends on how we will apply wisdom, not knowledge, not wealth, but commonsense and truth.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, thank You for truth that never changes. Thank You that I did not get what I deserved, but by Your grace I have been blessed. Help me to seek and to follow Your wisdom, truth and commonsense for everything in life. Give me the wisdom to show others the same grace that You have given to me. May I always seek to give others opportunity, both for all they need here on earth and more importantly to know You. Amen