Proverbs 1:7
I have reached the age where I know just enough to be dangerous. I have opinions about the best route to take, the proper temperature for the thermostat and the correct way to load a dishwasher. I have accumulated enough life experience to occasionally believe that my way is not merely a way. It is the way.
Then Proverbs comes along and reminds me that wisdom begins somewhere very different. “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” (Proverbs 1:7, NLT). What catches my attention is that last phrase. Fools despise wisdom and discipline. In other words, one of the clearest signs that I am becoming foolish is not that I know too little. It may be that I have become too stubborn to learn.
We usually think wisdom comes with age. Sometimes it does. Getting older automatically makes you older. Getting older does not automatically make you wiser. Wisdom requires humility. It requires being willing to admit, “Maybe I don’t know as much as I think I do.” That can be difficult. We like confirmation much more than correction. We enjoy people who nod when we talk. We appreciate sermons that straighten everybody else out. We love Bible verses that confirm what we already believe. But the fear of the Lord changes our posture.
When I recognize that God is God and I am not, I become teachable. I can open Scripture expecting God to correct me, not simply confirm me. I can listen when a trusted friend points out something I would rather not see. I can admit when I was wrong. I can change direction without feeling like I have surrendered my dignity. That is wisdom.
Maybe one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is not, “How much do I know?” but, “Am I still teachable?” When was the last time God changed your mind about something? When was the last time Scripture corrected you? When was the last time you admitted you were wrong and allowed someone else to help you grow? The wise person does not graduate from being teachable.
So come before God today with open hands and an open heart. Ask Him to show you where you need correction, growth or change. Then have the humility to listen. Because wisdom begins when we stop insisting that we already have it.