For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Proverbs 2: 6-8
Does anybody want wisdom anymore? Is that even a “thing” these days? How about knowledge? What is that, anyway? People seem to claim different things as being true. They want me and you to accept what they claim is knowledge regardless of whether it makes any sense or not. Which brings us to “understanding.” Whose do we use, anyway?
The problem in a society where everyone wins and no one loses is expectations. When people who never lose grow up they continue to expect to be treated as a winner, even if their ideas are losers.
For example, let’s take two neighbors; Harry and Larry. Harry is a humble man, attentive to the Lord, and always looking for the “right” thing to do. Larry, who lives next door, is generally full of himself. As far as he is concerned, he is always “right” and doesn’t need to bother with learning from anyone else.
One summer the local hardware store had a sale on riding lawnmowers. Both Harry and Larry needed a mower and they both got a great deal. That summer they happily mowed their lawns.
Harry thought it would be wise to keep his mower clean. He used his knowledge and understanding to wash off the cutting deck with a hose after every mowing. Then he put the mower in the shed until the next time it was used. Larry was too busy to wash his mower. It was “just a mower” after all. Wintertime came and both mowers rested between seasons. Harry’s had a nice dry spot in the shed. Larry’s mower sat out in the rain.
Five years later Harry’s mower looked and ran like brand new. Larry’s mower looked like it was about twenty years old and barely ran. For some reason Larry resented Harry. His stuff looked perfect all the time. Too perfect. Why should he have all the good stuff, anyway?
Application: There is a relationship between cause and effect, between what we do and what the results are. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are three legs of the stool on which success rests. The Lord is the source for all three. When we humbly come before him and allow him to guide our steps he is our shield and protection.
Food for Thought: What kind of success do you think the psalmist is talking about?
While it could include worldly success as a blessing from the Lord, I think success in God’s eyes is very different from what the world calls success. The priorities of the world are different than His priorities and so success will be measured differently as well. It would be better to be a “success” in my relationship with my wife, kids, church family, God and not be seen as great in the world’s eyes than have lots of wealth but lose everywhere else. Like 12:13-21.
Thank you, Rich. Well said! People sometimes confuse worldly wealth with spiritual success and the two are very different. Regardless of whether we have much or little, we are still stewards of what God has given us to manage. This is a far cry from someone striving to accumulate wealth for the sake of having more money.
I enjoy prayer that includes wisdom knowledge and understanding of his word. Applying his word and sharing the word is one of the steps to become fruitful. My way of being successful is being fruitful for my Lord