Who is the wisest person you have ever met? What was it about them that you appreciated? How did their wisdom impact your life? Have you taken on board their wisdom to the extent that now you are passing on some of their wisdom to others?
On the other hand, who is the most unwise person you have ever met? What about their life and character caused you to consider them unwise and therefore to possibly avoid them or avoid taking any advice from them? What did you “learn” from them that made you decide to go in the opposite direction?
I have had the privilege of meeting many wise people – both men and women. Just one example would be a man (now deceased) who was the principal of the missionary training college we trained at who later became an international leader in the same mission organisation. His name was Evan Davies and the mission he served with was WEC International. Later during my involvement on the staff of the missionary training college, he was still around and I always appreciated talking to him about some of the challenges of leadership, etc. Both his life and his words were inspiring. See for example, The interview: Evan Davies, WEC – Sight Magazine
Sadly, I have met a number of the opposite type of people and the older we all get, the sadder their lives have become, often related to very unwise choices they have made along the way. Now, I realize, we all make wrong decisions in life, but the wise person seeks God’s forgiveness and strength to learn from failure and head in a different direction (the definition of repentance). Sadly, the unwise person fails in these areas and the consequences can be disastrous.
And so, to the Thirty Sayings of the Wise, this anonymous wise person begins:
17 Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;
apply your heart to what I teach,
18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
and have all of them ready on your lips.
19 So that your trust may be in the Lord,
I teach you today, even you.
20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you,
sayings of counsel and knowledge,
21 teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,
so that you bring back truthful reports
to those you serve?
The key teaching here is that it is not enough to just hear or read these words of wisdom, they then must make a difference in our lives. So the wise person starts by saying,
Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;
apply your heart to what I teach.
The teaching in the Bible is transformational if we allow it to be. Take the 10 commandments for example. Imagine your life if you decided, having heard them to completely ignore these basics to living a meaningful life.
The last 5 say: You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely against your neighbor. You must not covet your neighbor’s house … your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:13-17) Now, ridiculous as it sounds, just consider for a moment, what your life would like if you had completely rejected these wise words and committed all (or even some of) these things against others in your life. Then, look at your life in the light of having heard and acted upon these commandments. You have to admit, this wisdom from God makes sense. He gave us the commandments for our own good and the good of society around us!
And so the wise person here continues: it is pleasing [to you, others and God) when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.
The ultimate purpose being, So that your trust may be in the Lord.
Then having put our trust in God, the words of Scripture (whether here in Proverbs or anywhere else in the Bible) teach us to be honest and to speak the truth, so that you bring back truthful reports to those you serve?
Goldsworthy concludes that “Our wisdom is above all things found in the gospel: Christ is our wisdom.” (# 53) It is in a right relationship with Christ where we are able to not only learn how to live wisely but then have the power from him to “translate this truth into daily living.” (# 53)
In the words of the Apostle Paul,
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him [Christ] who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:12-13)
Worship and Wisdom - Psalms and Proverbs 