Need Wisdom? Get Wisdom!

There is a Bible verse that seems to challenge those who read it: Proverbs 4:7.
The start of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.

This verse might feel like a call to create something out of nothing for yourself. If you lack it, get it. You don't have the house you want? Just get it. You don't have the car you want? Just get it.

But this verse isn't about acquiring a material object, like a house or car. It's about gaining wisdom. Is it more like gaining knowledge? If so, I face a similar problem. Sometimes I don't know what I don't know. I need outside knowledge to come to me. The verse says, 'Get that knowledge.'

Do you ever get stuck thinking like this? It’s the idea that you’re expected to work with something you don’t have and cannot easily get. Does the wise writer of Proverbs expect you to conjure up knowledge from your limited resources and experience?

The answer is a clear no. What you need to understand is the nature of wisdom. We’ve already said wisdom isn’t a material good. But it’s also not just knowledge. One theologian I know calls wisdom "skill in the art of godly living." He describes wisdom as a skill.

Getting wisdom is more like living down the street from a grocery store. When I don't have bread, I get bread. When I don't have eggs, I get eggs. Could gaining priceless wisdom be more like making quick trips to the grocery store?

A famous baseball manager tells his players, "The game honors you," when they play well and act as good teammates. As players practice repeatedly, their skills improve, and they win. To him, that is the game honoring the players.

What if wisdom works the same way? You want bread? Buy bread. Play the right way, and the game will honor you. Gaining wisdom is something accessible to everyone. Too often, we imagine climbing a mountain to meet a guru. But instead of one big climb, it's about taking a short walk every day. Get the groceries. Practice your swing.

Skill in the art of godly living means everyone can access some wisdom. If it wasn't passed down from your parents, at least one person in your life has been wiser than you. You’ve heard at least one wise truth—use it. Wait until another piece of wisdom comes your way, then do something with that too.

When you seek wisdom by applying what you already have, more wisdom seems to come to you. There’s an old song by Stephen Curtis Chapman called "Walk With the Wise," based on Proverbs 13:20: "He who walks with the wise grows wise." In it, the songwriter describes praying for wisdom and then looking for it in his life. His eyes are opened to the wisdom of those around him, and he himself begins to grow in wisdom.

The book of Proverbs features different characters: the wise, the fool, the simple, the scoffer, and the sluggard. The saddest to me is the sluggard, who won't even bring his hand to his mouth but leaves it buried in food, likely starving (Proverbs 26:15). He turns in bed like a door on its hinges (Proverbs 26:14). He's afraid and makes the excuse that there is a lion in the street when there’s nothing there (Proverbs 22:13). Basically, the game doesn't honor him because he won't go to batting practice. He has nothing in his cupboard, not because there’s famine, but because he refuses to go to the grocery store.

So, do you need wisdom? Get wisdom! Look for what you already have. Use it. Find more from the same source, or better yet, read God's word. Start with the book of Proverbs. If you read one chapter a day, you'll finish in a month. Then start again. It will make you wise, and the game will honor you because, as Proverbs 4:8 states, "Prize her highly and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her."