Better Than Jewels

After hearing some motivating ministry a while ago, Jim and I decided that we wanted to read the Proverbs on a continual basis with the kids.  They’re obviously too young to grasp much of the truths therein, but we believe that the more often the kids are exposed to the truth, the deeper their comprehension, and Lord willing, acceptance of the truth will be.  So I’ve been trying to read a few verses at breakfast time with them, pulling out one verse or a partial verse in particular for the kids to repeat and elaborate upon.  Some of the verses the girls find entertaining (“Go to the ant, o sluggard, consider her ways and be wise…” Prov 6:6), and some stick in their heads better than others (“Fools despise wisdom and instruction” Prov 1:7).  I keep coming back to Proverb’s central theme of wisdom, and I’ve tried to impress upon the kids how important wisdom is.  According to the Scriptures, wisdom is a wonderful thing – it’s “better than jewels.”  It comes from above – “For the Lord gives wisdom.”  It is a gradual learning process that involves spiritual maturity – “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  It is something we ought to yearn for – “make your ear attentive to wisdom”, something we ought to love, and it goes well for us when we do – “He who loves wisdom makes his father glad”  and “blessed is he who finds wisdom.”  I don’t know if my children will ever get wisdom as it is described in the Scriptures, wisdom that comes from depending on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and studying and applying His Word.  I can’t make them wise – that is a gift from the Lord, just as is salvation from the punishment for our sins.  I can only pray daily, hourly, that the Lord will give me wisdom in knowing how to train them up in the way they should go (Prov 22:6).

I’ve been thinking a lot about wisdom lately, as I’ve spent a lot of time with our niece Alli these last few weeks.  She’s 17 years old and will be entering her senior year of high school this fall.  She’s at an age where most kids don’t display much wisdom.  In my experience, most kids her age are inwardly-focused, too wrapped up in their own melodramas to have any greater perspective on life.  They are trudging through high school, only trying to get out in one piece.  They strive hard to surround themselves with other similarly myopic teens, and consequently they can’t transcend the echo chamber of hormones and anxiety. 

But Alli isn’t like that.  She earnestly, and eagerly, seeks out the wisdom of others.  She consults her parents, grandparents, elders in her assembly, and gets their take on things before proceeding with her decisions.  She understands that she doesn’t know everything.  She appreciates the spiritual advice of older Christians.  She chooses to spend time with her family and with fellow saints, rather than just the kids from school.  She is learning that her parents know what they are talking about.  She recognizes that, even when she doesn’t agree with her parents’ decisions, that they’re doing what’s best for her, which makes the sometimes-bitter pills of discipline and instruction easier to swallow.  She is working out the principles laid out in Proverbs, that “when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge,” and that one should “apply your heart to instruction.” She’s not a fool who despises wisdom – she’s a Godly young woman who seeks after it.  I’m thankful that I have her as an example to my own children.  

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not on thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5,6).