The Pursuit of Wisdom Brings Security
2 My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
3 For if you cry for discernment,
[a]Lift your voice for understanding;
4 If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will discern the fear of the Lord
And discover the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 Guarding the paths of justice,
And He preserves the way of His godly ones.
9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice
And equity and every good course.
We find again in the second chapter that wisdom and the fear of the Lord are very much intertwined. When we seek Him, we find wisdom, and vice versa. And we find something else when we seek God and find His knowledge and His heart. In v. 9 it tells us that we will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course.
There is a lot of talk of equity in our culture today, and I think many would be surprised how often this word occurs in the Bible. We tend to think equity is at odds with Christianity, but they’d be dead wrong. If God treated us based on our merits, we would all be dead. That’s what we deserve, as we’ve all broken His law in so many ways none of us would be able to count them.
There’s a parable where a man hires folks to work in his vineyard throughout the day. He tells them all the same thing, offers them the same wages for the day, and at the end pays them all exactly the same amount. Naturally, the ones who worked all day are upset about the ones who only worked a couple hours. But they received exactly what was promised, and the man asks if they are upset that he is so generous with his money?
Whether we are young or old, it is never too late to start seeking God and following His plan. God will reward all who diligently seek Him, and He has a plan for each of us. Your plan is different than mine, and different than the woman down the road, or your neighbor next door. God knows you best, knows exactly what you need, and knows the “good course” that you should walk.
Stop worrying about how He blesses someone else, and seek His will for your life. It won’t look like anyone else’s plan, and that’s okay. Follow it with all your heart, mind, and soul, and that will be enough. The reward will be more than you or I deserve, for our God is generous beyond compare. Go and do likewise.