How to Listen to Wisdom, Part 2

Yesterday, we saw that the first step to becoming wise is to passively receive wisdom.  The second step is to actively seek it.

“Search-Engine-Marketing” by Danard Vincente, shared under Creative Commons Attribution License

³Yes, if you call out for insight
And raise your voice for understanding,
⁴If you seek it like silver
And search for it as for hidden treasures (Prov 2:3-4, ESV).

Solomon commands us to listen actively.  Passive reception is not enough.  Prov 2:3-4 instructs us to move on to active seeking.  We must call out and raise our voices for understanding.  We must seek wisdom as we would silver or a hidden treasure.  If a woman lost her wedding ring, she would tear the house apart until she found it.  She wouldn’t just wait passively for it to reappear.

We can relate to this image, because we’re all treasure seekers.  We arrange our lives to accommodate what’s most important to us.  That’s why we bother to get married.  That’s why we drag ourselves out of bed for 8:00 AM classes.  That’s why we make peace with the long commute to the office.  That’s why we stay up late for midnight cinematic premieres.  That’s why spend so long in front of the mirror before leaving the house each day.  That’s why we go into debt.  That’s why we’ll upheave our lives and relocate closer to our grandchildren.

If I fail to grow in wisdom, it’s not because I didn’t receive enough help.  If I am not being fed spiritually, I am responsible to find food.  If you are a teacher or a leader, you should not wait for people to give you suggestions for improvement; you should take initiative to ask for them.  If you’re married, don’t wait for your spouse to bring up concerns; instead, regularly ask, “How do you think our marriage is going?”  Consider asking someone to mentor you.  If you want to understand the Bible better, plan time right in your schedule.  If you don’t have a schedule, now would be a great time to make one.

To summarize: If you want to become wise, you must listen to wisdom.  Listening involves both receiving it eagerly and seeking it passionately.