Proverbs 1:5
“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:”
The road that the wise person travels is always the same. Yes, they may find themselves with different knowledge, but the wisdom gathered was obtained by walking down the same path. Nobody will have godly success without wisdom. Wisdom will keep a person from heartache and will help a person obtain the greatest joy in life.
The Book of Proverbs is a father teaching a son about life. In the Book of Proverbs this father stresses the importance of getting wisdom and understanding. You will find that every person starts out as a simple person, but the choices a person makes at certain junctures of life will determine whether they will become wise or foolish. In the first chapter of Proverbs, the father shows the road a person must take if they want wisdom.
First, if a person wants wisdom then they need to have a heart to receive. Verse 3 says, “To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;” You will never get wisdom if you don’t want it. You must have a heart that is willing to receive the instruction needed to obtain wisdom. The person whose heart is hardened towards the instruction of wisdom will find themselves void of it when they need it. If your heart is not tender towards the Word of God and the wisdom It teaches you, then you will find foolishness is your future.
Second, if a person wants wisdom then they must have an ear that will hear. It says in the verse above, “A wise man will hear…” You cannot get the instruction needed if you are not listening. In other words, you must be more willing to listen than to talk. If you are talking all the time, then you will not hear the wisdom needed. Sometimes it is just better to shut up and listen than to put in your two cents. Always be a listener in every spectrum of life in which you find yourself and you will find wisdom is speaking.
Third, if a person wants wisdom then they must have an attitude to learn. The verse above says the wise man will “increase learning.” Obtaining wisdom is a lifelong class. You must have a desire to increase learning if you want to gain wisdom. In other words, find places where you can learn such as reading books and seeking out wise people who can teach you. A person who is wise is humble enough to understand they have not arrived and will never arrive when it comes to wisdom.
Finally, if a person wants wisdom then they must have a determination to achieve. Attaining unto wise counsels is a determination to achieve. A person who has no desire to achieve will not seek out wisdom. You should have a drive inside of you that desires to be the best at what you do.
You don’t have to have a college degree to have wisdom. In fact, I have found that some of the wisest people in life are people who never graduated from college, but they walked down the road of the wise. There is nothing wrong with education, but wisdom is more important. Be sure that every day you walk down the road of the wise so that when you need wisdom to help others you have already obtained it.