MONDAY, JUNE 24
“The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight,to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth— Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,”
Proverbs 1:1-5 ESV
OPTIMIZE: WISDOM FOR LIFE
Disney recently released a new version of the box office hit Aladdin starring Will Smith as the genie in the lamp. There are a variety of other stories about people finding a genie in a lamp, such as the three sailors whose ship went down, and they made their way in a raft to a small island. One was an Englishman, the second was an Italian and the third of indistinct origin, (to be politically correct). They had eaten all the coconuts and were slowly starving to death when a bottle came floating up on the beach. They pulled the cork out of the bottle, and a genie came out and granted each of them one wish. The Italian immediately said, “I wish I was back in Rome drinking coffee at a sidewalk cafe on the Via Venato, just watching the people pass by.” Immediately, there he was back in Rome drinking his coffee. The Englishman said, I wish I were back in London eating fish and chips in Piccadilly Square, and immediately there he was back in London. The third then said, “I am so lonely without my two friends I wish they were back here to keep me company.”
The collector of the book of Proverbs was King Solomon. On one occasion God told Solomon he could have anything he wanted. And in 2 Chronicles 1:7-12 Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge. Here in Proverbs 1 King Solomon shares some of those principles about wisdom that he learned.
One commentary said, “Proverbs is the most intensely practical book in the Old Testament because it teaches skillful living in the multiple aspects of everyday life. Its specific precepts include instruction on wisdom and folly, the righteous and the wicked, the tongue, pride and humility, justice and vengeance, the family, laziness and work, poverty and wealth, friends and neighbors, love and lust, anger and strife, masters and servants, life and death.”
Someone else said, “Wisdom is the ability to see something from God’s viewpoint.” This past Sunday Pastor Daniel kicked of our series “Optimize.” He started to help us understand that wisdom is optimizing the knowledge you have in order to optimize your life. So let me ask each of us to consider: If you could ask for anything… or imagine that God spoke to you and said: “Ask for whatever you want me to give you?” What would you ask for? What areas of your life do you need God’s wisdom? Do you believe you are currently optimizing the knowledge and opportunities God has given you? Ask God to help you optimize what you’ve already been given.
