Don’t be a Fool
How to Find Wisdom
Commit to developing wisdom by taking the 30-Day Proverbs Wisdom Challenge.
Bob Lonac If you find these posts helpful, join my newsletter to get encouraging tips in your inbox.
Earlier this month I talked about fools — who they are and how to tell if you’re dealing with one. But as important as it is to spot a fool, it’s even more important to develop wisdom.
Because the opposite of a fool is a wise person.
Webster Dictionary has three good definitions of what wisdom is:
1: A. ability to discern inner qualities and relationships: INSIGHT B. good sense: JUDGMENT C. generally accepted belief D. accumulated philosophical or scientific learning: KNOWLEDGE
2. a wise attitude, belief, or course of action
3. the teachings of the ancient wise men
The Bible says King Solomon was the wisest person who ever lived. Solomon shared a good deal of his wisdom, especially as it pertained to spotting fools and developing personal morality, in the book of Proverbs.
In chapters 1–9, Solomon laid out why wisdom is important and the basics of understanding how to choose between wisdom and foolishness. The rest of the book looks at specific areas of life that are worth praying on as you learn and grow.
The most basic place to start is at the beginning.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Knowing God is the beginning of wisdom. Developing a personal relationship with Jesus is the commitment to growing that wisdom.
Seeing how He works through you to spread His love to the world is the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.
In the first nine chapters, Solomon describes wisdom as two beautiful women. The foolish one is a seductive destroyer. The other, on the other side of the street, is also easy to spot.
Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square.
The Proverbs If
But there is an if!
1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Hebrew rendered fool in Proverbs, and often elsewhere in the Old Testament, as a person who is morally deficient. This implies that if you want wisdom, you have to grow in your character.
The 30-Day Proverbs Wisdom Challenge
There are 31 chapters in Proverbs. Meeting this challenge will take you roughly one month to complete.
Day 1: Read the first nine chapters. They lay out what wisdom is and how to get it.
Day 2 - 30: Read one chapter a day, picking out one Proverb that grabs your attention. Underline it. Pray about it. And, work on remembering and incorporating it into how you behave and how you are becoming.
Missed a day? Don’t worry! Pick up where you left off. You have 30 days to complete the challenge, give or take. The point is progress, not perfection.
My Chosen Proverb Recently
Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the Lord that one gets justice.
I usually give you a book review. No surprise, the book I am recommending is the book of Proverbs. In the Bible. Go get ‘em, friend.
