In Proverbs 8 wisdom and understanding are personified voices speaking to us as if they are living beings speaking directly to us, and telling us all about their nature, their history and begging us to pay attention to what they have to say. Wisdom introduces some of her close friends by saying she “shares a home with shrewdness” and she introduces some of her other counterparts like “knowledge and discretion.” She shares her attributes that she gives “wealth to those who love me and filling their treasuries” and she reminds us that the Lord made her at the very beginning of creation. She was formed before the earth was and she stood beside God himself as he masterfully created every detail of the earth. In fact, verse 30 says “I was a skilled craftsman beside Him. I was His delight every day always rejoicing before Him.” So she urges us to pay attention to what she has to say because those who listen are blessed and happy but the one who ignores her will harm himself. What I really pulled from this beautiful passage today is that we have to remind ourselves that wisdom exists because God exists and it can’t be separated from God’s nature. We live in a culture that tries to dismiss certain attributes based on the fact that they are simply “old”/ That is the epitome of foolishness because Proverbs tells us that wisdom was established with the foundations of creation. If we follow after wisdom and her counterparts, we will naturally find favor because they are laws of nature whether you even acknowledge God or not. God implanted these things in the structure of the universe and they cannot be defied by our own thoughts or ways. This is why even ungodly people who happen to exercise some of wisdom’s attributes will be found in favor and blessing. They are established as part of the system and the system of wisdom doesn’t discriminate against anyone. As I read this today I challenge myself to pay attention to the ideas that present themselves to me and determine whether they fall into the categories of “wisdom, knowledge, discretion and shrewdness” so that I can pay attention to the root sources. I want to walk in these attributes not only for the sake of myself and my family but for the sake of those who are around me as well. When we walk in wisdom it affects everyone we encounter. When people encounter the effects of this wisdom, they are drawn to God.
