If only...

1 Kings 3

I'll admit it. I am often unwise. Left on my own, I would crash and burn, sink not swim. I'm a natural-born life-wrecking machine with the power to leave me and those around me in a state of utter despair and impoverishment. I mean it.

I have a measure of wisdom that comes from God, however. And I have a wise wife, also from God. These two elements are the roadside barriers that keep me on the narrow path. In some ways, Tammy is the embodiment of God's wisdom in my life. Any amount of prosperity I enjoy comes from the management of my life through God's gifts of wisdom, gleaned over the years from my parents, from his Word, and from my wife.

Wisdom is the ultimate decision filter. What you do with God's wisdom is very important. The first decision you have to make is a personal one. Will I act on wisdom in my individual life?

An example: I can honestly say that I'm a smoker. I haven't had a smoke for nine years now, but left on my own, I'd be a chimney. I walked by a tobacco shop last week and peered through the window like an adolescent kid trying to get a glimpse of the cute neighbor girl through her blinds. I was looking for my old brand, John Player Special's, a fine English cigarette. I wouldn't have purchased them. I don't even know that they exist anymore. (Yes, there is something unwise about even looking or thinking about them.) Regardless, I didn't walk in and purchase. That was exercising individual wisdom. Our bodies are temples for God. I'm just guessing that I'm supposed to be a 'No Smoking' temple. This temple lasts longer that way. Also, this temple gets to stay with God's other, cuter temple, under the same roof. That temple has said that it will not live with this temple if this temple smokes. Individual wisdom.

But in the passage you read below, there is another key element to wisdom and knowledge that we often overlook. What will we do with God's wisdom outside of our individual realm? Will we do what Solomon modeled for us?

1 Kings 4: 29-34

Solomon imparted his wisdom.

He could've hung onto it and used it for his own selfish means. He could've horded it like a monopolistic monarch. He could have, but he didn't. In fact, he did the opposite. He gave it away in whatever way he could. You could say he was wise with his wisdom. What comes from God is good enough to be given away.

And give it away he did. Solomon penned proverbs – 3000 of them. He wrote songs. He understood the power of multi-media marketing. Get the wise words out in whatever way possible! Solomon even went so far as to develop SolomonU, or the Solomon International Institute of Higher Learning, where you could take courses directly from the professor himself…you didn’t get his teaching assistant or a substitute. Solomon was wise, seemingly humble, full of grace and he loved to teach. What he knew was too good to keep in the box.

You might say to yourself, "If only I had wisdom like that." Well, good news. It is available to you as well. God’s wisdom, given to the wisest of the wise, is still available to you and like all of God’s words, it is meant to be shared. So, ask yourself: What am I doing with God’s wisdom? How am I contributing that wisdom to this world? to the kids in my life? to the people I know? January is a great month to peruse Proverbs. You are invited to open it up and see what wisdom God has to share with you today.