The trouble with wisdom....

Yesterday was a good day....I finished moving everything around...everything that I own is in the zip code that it needs to be in. It was a long hard day, but a very good one.

It was also a good day, because I was able to spend time with two people that I consider to be very wise. My belief is that wisdom is very important, and should be pursued. As far as I know, there are really only two ways to gain wisdom: life experiences and spending time with wise people. Spending time with wise people includes reading the writings of wise people. The ultimate source of this being the scriptures.

Here's the trouble with wisdom as I see it, wisdom doesn't come when life goes the right way, wisdom comes from trouble. With wisdom, comes scars.

My son is a very good athlete. Like most athletes, he is very competitive...he hates losing (very much). My advice to him has always been.....you learn nothing when you win, the only time you learning anything is when you lose. Losing is tough, but if used correctly, it can be the best thing that can happen to you.

If you have studied the scriptures, wisdom is usually associated with one person...Solomon.

I Kings 3 contains the famous story where God grants Solomon a wish...Solomon asks for wisdom...God is impressed and gives him wisdom and much much more. The next story is the famous story where two women are arguing over a baby. Solomon makes a very wise decision, and determines the true mother of the child.

Since these two stories are back to back, I grew up with the notion that God granted Solomon's wish miraculously...I believed (wrongly, in my opinion) that God gave Solomon that Wisdom immediately.

It is my belief that the book of Ecclesiastes should be inserted between these two stories. I do not believe that God gave Solomon that Wisdom by some miraculous means....it is my belief that Solomon gained that wisdom the same way we do today....through trouble.

In many ways, Ecclesiastes sounds like the writing of a bitter old man....just look at the first thing he says:

Ecclesiastes 1:2
"Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."

Sounds like there may be some scars there....How about this one?

Ecclesiastes 1:18
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.

Ultimately, however, though wisdom comes through difficulty....It is the most important thing that one can have.

Proverbs 3
13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
the man who gains understanding,

14 for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.

15 She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.

16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.

17 Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.

18 She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
those who lay hold of her will be blessed.