Get Wisdom (6)

And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.1 Kings 4.34

People-watching

Even a cursory reading of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs – the greatest literary achievements of King Solomon – will reveal that Solomon knew a good deal about the ways, longings, hopes, fears, and needs of men and women.

Solomon knew that God had made people in His own image, after His likeness, with the ability to know the Lord and to understand the world and life in ways consistent with God’s design, though not exhaustively (cf. Eccl. 3.10, 11). Solomon seems to have concluded, therefore, that he could learn something about the wisdom of God by watching people in their everyday lives. He seemed to know what Hopkins expressed in one of His poems, that “Christ plays in 10,000 places,” in the forms, features, faces, and ways of people from all walks of life.

By observing others, and trying to learn from their ways, Solomon believed he would grow in the wisdom he sought so earnestly from the Lord.

If we recall that wisdom is nothing more than “skill in living according to the purpose and plan of God”, then it makes sense to think that the actions of men and women, arising from the decisions and choices of their conscience, can lead us to get the wisdom of God. Some people are better than others at living wisely, and it is a good idea to identify wise people and learn from them as much as we can.

All kinds of people
Solomon saw God’s wisdom in all kinds of people. In Song of Songs he shows us how God, in His wisdom, teaches men and women the importance of love and guides them in expressing love to one another.

At the same time, Solomon warns us, in both Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, of the danger of cheapening love by making it nothing more than a sensual experience. Love between men and women should be like the love God has for His people – pure, eternal, self-giving, mutually edifying, devoted, and engaging the whole person. Anything less than this, Solomon knew, was but a cheap imitation of love.

He must also have observed many friends relating to one another, for he had much to say about being a soul friend with another person. Solomon also warned readers about the bad examples of sluggards, cheats, deceivers, adulterers, and those who play fast and loose with the truth. He watched businessmen, rulers, parents, and people in a wide range of situations, in each case studying their actions to get the wisdom of God from them. He extolled the example of a godly wife, a wise citizen, and a devoted ruler. He saw what happened when people obeyed God’s Word, and he warned about the folly of thinking we know better than God about how we ought to live.

Observing the wise
We can learn much about wisdom from paying attention to the people around us and the goings-on of the world. As C. S. Lewis reminds us, you will never see a mere mortal. Every person is an image-bearer of God, and by paying attention to others, and observing their choices and actions, we can get wisdom from God to live more consistently for Him.

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ means being a learner, and we can learn much about the wisdom of God especially from watching wise people who know the Lord and are faithful in serving Him, or by reading about them, as from our forebears in the faith. The more such people we have in our lives, and the more carefully we observe them, the greater will be the likelihood that we will understand how to live in the wisdom of God.

When our quest for wisdom is grounded in the love and fear of God, framed by the Law of God, and devoted to the service of God, then we may expect that diligent study and careful observation will yield additional insights into the wisdom of God from creation, culture, and the workings of human consciences.

If we would gain the wisdom of God, we must resort to all these sources with the keenest interest and devotion.

For reflection
1.  Can you think of a wise person who has influenced you greatly? What is it about that person that caught your attention?

2.  What’s the difference between a hero and a celebrity? Should Christians have heroes in their lives? How might heroes help us to learn the wisdom of God? How would you counsel someone to begin looking for some heroes?

3.  Read Hebrews 11. Jot down whatever you think we might learn about the wisdom of God from these heroes of the faith.

Next steps – Conversation: Ask some Christian friends about their heroes. What have they learned about God’s wisdom from these folks?

T. M. Moore

This is part 5 of an 8-part series on Purifying the Conscience. To download this week’s study as a free PDF, click here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.