Pillars of Wisdom Proverbs 9:1-6
Today we’re going to take a break from our examination of Luke’s observations of Jesus life and look into the Old Testament book of Proverbs and what it says about wisdom.
A lot of people look at wisdom as being smart, or as Jen says about me, I have a head full of useless information. I wish it were but that’s not wisdom, that’s just remembering mundane facts such as in Star Trek the Enterprises serial number is NCC 1701, or that in the book Dorothy’s ruby slippers were silver and they changed the color to be better noticed in the movie. Anyway that’s not wisdom that’s just knowledge. I’ve heard it said that knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
As I read this I thought of the one person who asked God for wisdom, Solomon. 1 Kings 3 records a conversation between Solomon and God, 1 Kings 3:9, “…give your servant a discerning heart…to distinguish between right and wrong.” An admirable thing to pray for.
Our reading says in verse one, “Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars.” This leads us to investigate what are the seven pillars of wisdom?
The first pillar is “prudence.” Prudence, there’s a word we don’t use often. It means foresight, looking ahead to the future. To be prudent is not running headfirst into something without thought. It is anticipating, planning and being prepared. The ice storm we had several weeks ago exposed my lack of prudence. I knew from the weather reports it was coming, and my lack of planning caused us a very cold day without power as we tried to find a hotel room.
Scripture is full of verses on being prepared; Proverbs 21:320, “The wise store up choice food and olive oil but fool devour all that they have,” Luke 21:36, “Be alert at all times.”
Being prudent is part of being wise but to really be prudent you need the second pillar of wisdom, “Knowledge and discretion.” You can’t adequately plan ahead or prepare for obstacles if you don’t have knowledge. Knowledge is accumulating information; it’s learning. I looked into and learned the shingles on our house are considered twenty year shingles. Now they may last longer than that but armed with that information I am being prudent by putting money aside to use when we eventually need a new roof.
Proverbs 8:15, “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.” 1 Corinthians 12:8, “For to one is given the word of wisdom through the spirit, and to another the word of knowledge through the same spirit.”
I said the second pillar of wisdom was knowledge and discretion. Discretion is the power to act or not act according to one’s judgment. Going back to the ice storm; I had the knowledge of its approach, but I chose not to act on that knowledge, not very wise.
The third pillar is “counsel.” Proverbs 15:22 says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” We are not an island unto ourselves. We may have knowledge but we cannot know everything. We may think a course of action is appropriate but maybe someone else sees an obstacle or consequence we do not.
This pillar also takes strength from the previous one for taking the time to look and listen and learn prevents us from being taken advantage of. It helps us to filter the counsel we receive and discern a course of action best for us.
And the one with the best counsel for us is God. Psalm 73:24, “You guide me with your counsel leading me to a glorious destiny.” James 1:19, “Understand this my brothers and sisters, let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.” We should listen to others as James writes but do not forget to listen to the one who always has your best interest in his heart; God. Seek his counsel by taking time to sit quiet and pray.
Job 12-13, “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.” And Paul tells us in his second letter to Timothy, “All scripture is given by God and is useful for teaching…”(2 Tim 3:16) When faced with a difficult decision or challenge Consult scripture, you’ll find just about everything we face is addressed in the Bible.
Wisdom’s fourth pillar is “sound judgment.” Our scripture started with “wisdom built her house…” Like one pillar is strong but if a house has many pillars the load on each is eased; one works in concordance with the others. The same is seen with our pillars. Sound judgment works in concordance with the first three. Good judgment is the capacity to assess a situation and to draw a sound conclusion. Sound judgment starts with observing and learning. It continues by seeking counsel from those more knowledgeable about the situation. Sound judgment combines these and allows you to be prudent.
This may be great when I’m looking at the possibility of replacing my roof but it works the same in our faith life. God wants our faith to grow and mature. To do this we must seek those who know more, those farther along the road of faith than we are. But we are not to be passive in the process. Don’t just go to one source, listen to many. Read the Bible, think on it, and pray on it. This gives you knowledge and discretion over what someone tells you. Some say the Bible says not to get inebriated so I don’t drink at all; I’m going to heaven. It can be easy to see validity in this if you don’t look at things yourself and pray for God to open the way before you.” Proverbs 4:5, “Get wisdom, get understanding, do not forget my words or turn away from me.”
The fifth pillar of wisdom is “understanding.” If we don’t understand we can’t be wise. When I heard the news about the ice storm I didn’t understand the severity of what I was being told. I didn’t take the time to listen closely and learn what was headed our way. By not understanding I was unable to make a sound judgment and act prudently before the storm arrived.
Understanding applies to our spiritual life too. Jesus spoke in parables not to confuse us but to make us think. The parables are given in a way that they often have different layers to them. This causes us think, to study and to contemplate thereby gaining a deeper understanding of their meaning and the lessons Jesus is teaching. In Luke 13 Jesus tells a parable about a woman mixing yeast into flour “until it worked all through the dough.” (Luke 13:21)This isn’t a lesson on how to make bread, it’s meant to show that you need to work the Word of God into every aspect of your life.
Proverbs 4:7, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” 1 John 5:20, “We know also that the Son of God has given us understanding, so that we may know him…” Understanding scripture comes from God. Have a desire to know and understand, pray for God to help you use this understanding in your life.
The sixth pillar is “power.” We’ve all heard “knowledge is power.” I don’t think that’s entirely true, I believe it’s in wisdom that the power lies. Ecclesiastes 7:19, “Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city.”
Being prudent gives you power. It allows you to circumvent problems if you prepare for them. Having knowledge gives you power, knowledge helps you to see what the possibilities of a situation might be. Understanding gives you power, you will not get swept up in unforeseen circumstances because you will understand what is surrounding you. Counsel gives you power, you will have more information to draw on and more options to consider. Sound judgment gives you power, it allows you to make good decisions and chart a proper course. And the greatest power in our lives comes from our reliance on God; 1 Corinthians 2:5,“Your faith shall not rest on human wisdom but on God’s power.” Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes…”
Like the pillars holding up a roof, each supporting the other by taking on part of the load; the pillars of wisdom all work together. They build on each other to hold up the wisdom in our lives. Prudence, knowledge, counsel, judgment, understanding and power all work together to build strong wisdom in us.
As you may notice that is only six. The seventh pillar of wisdom is to “fear the Lord.”
We need to understand this does not mean to be afraid of God. As believers “fear the Lord” refers to our continual awareness of God’s presence in our lives and in the world. By seeing God in all aspects of our lives he becomes infused in every part of us.
By seeking out God’s knowledge, God’s counsel, God’s understanding, we will be intimately aware of God and able to make sound judgments and take prudent actions.
By making the pillar of God the cornerstone of our lives the other pillars work together in our lives and we will live in the house of wisdom. Proverbs 2:6’ “For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth came knowledge and understanding.”
Amen.