“Living Wisely” by Brad Herald


Proverbs 22:4 “Humility and the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor a life.”

Proverbs contains many strong statements about the benefits of wisdom, including long life, wealth, honor, and peace. What if you are not experiencing any of these, does this mean you are low on wisdom?

Not necessarily, because instead of providing guarantees, these statements are general principles as the book of Proverbs is often describing life the way that it should be. In a perfect world, wise behavior would always lead to these benefits. Even in our troubled world, living wisely usually results in living a blessed life, but not always.

Sometimes sin intervenes, and some blessings must be delayed until Jesus returns to establish His eternal kingdom. That is why as Christians, we must “live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7”). If we believe in Christ, we can share Paul’s hope and confidence of eternal life with Christ. Let this hope give you confidence in your faith and inspire you to gain wisdom and understanding of the Word. We can be sure that this wisdom ultimately leads to Jesus’ blessings.