Soulfood

Darby Strickland

God’s words are life-giving and beautifying

Proverbs teaches us to how to be people who pursue wisdom. Learning from it requires patience, diligence, and discernment.

Example of Prov 22:6 – could be used to shame parents whose children are straying, or puff up in pride parents whose children appear to be staying in the way. Neither false application is the way of wisdom, and a discerning student of Proverbs will avoid both errors.

To understand Proverbs rightly, we must know God and His son Jesus and also know ourselves rightly. Prov. 24:4-5 shows us that speaking to fools is not a simple task. It requires understanding of the foolish person, his circumstances and situations. Without a knowledge and understanding of the whole counsel of God we will not rightly apply the wisdom of Proverbs.

Our pursuit of wisdom isn’t merely for our own good, but also so we can invite others to follow the path of wisdom together. In pursuit of wisdom, in searching it out, we are obeying both the greatest commandment and the second-greatest as well.

In a culture where we are catechized to be true to ourselves, Proverbs demonstrates that our selves are the problem, not the solution. “Be not wise in your own eyes…do not lean on your own understanding…there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is death.”

Why do we seek wisdom? Because Wisdom loves us and calls to us. The One God who is wise pursues us and teaches us to desire Him, to feel affection for Him, to think His thoughts after him, and to understand Him more deeply and fully. In this way we have life in abundance, and are more and more enabled to have the mind of Christ and love each other well. God promises that those who seek Him earnestly will find Him.

Wisdom is the application of knowledge that flows from God. Discernment is the ability to judge well and recognize subtle differences that distinguish good, better, and best. Discernment allows us to divide right from wrong and truth from falsehood in situations where the differences aren’t readily apparent.

It takes time to think biblically about complex situations. It requires careful study, humble submission, and persistence in seeking truth.

Wisdom and discernment are necessary for us to speak life-giving words that give grace to the hearers. Example of speaking to those experiencing gender dysphoria and counseling those who are struggling with how to respond to our culture’s ignorance and confusion about gender.

To speak words of life, we must love – and demonstrate our love for – the one who is listening to us. We must show by our actions and words that we are for them and are seeking their good.

When we don’t know what to do or say, searching the Proverbs prayerfully is helpful. Don’t work from worldly knowledge bases. Love Jesus and the Gospel as taught in the Scriptures. Let the love of Love fuel our pursuit of wisdom. We must continually turn away from our own understanding and perceptions, tuning our thoughts and desires to the melody of Scripture. We must be faithful and disciplined in putting in to practice its teachings in our daily life. We must be changed by it – if we are not, then we are simply using Scripture as a way to justify our own ways of thinking and living.

If we are not being changed by our study of Scripture, we are merely using it to justify our own ways of seeing, walking, and loving.

And in our pursuit of wisdom and understanding, we must invite others to join us. If we are not doing these things in community, we are neglecting the commandment to love our neighbor as ourself.

The changes in us will change the way we love others, and as we share what we are learning it will give life to those who are walking with us. When we speak about the wisdom and discernment we have gained to and with those around us, we will refresh the hearers with living waters that flow through us from God.

As we rub the specifics of our lives against Scripture, we will be changed and be able to speak life-giving words to our neighbors.