Pursuit of wisdom

Someone said that pursuing wisdom is an effective way of investing in the future.

Prov 24:14
Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

There is a need to "find" wisdom and with it the hope in our future. A pursuit for wisdom is hence crucial.

How does one pursue wisdom?

As in the pursuits of all things, effort is required. In this particular instance, when we wish to go after wisdom, what do we have to be engaged in? Comprehending wise advice requires no university degree - the book of proverbs contains ageless, priceless wisdom from god which is made accessible to the lay-man. We can reach out to these truths and apply them into how we live our lives and see for ourselves how they can tell us how life works.

A friend of mine shared that by being conscious in seeking to live our lives wisely, we are actually navigating ourselves out of morally blind alleys and out of roads that have dead ends.

Prov 2:11-13
Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse,
who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways

The book of Proverbs highlights the consequences to the choices that we make in our lives. Comparisons between a wise person who acts wisely versus a foolish person who acts foolishly are made almost everywhere. The intention is to let readers be aware of the results of their actions. So in reading this book to get the most benefit out of it, one would have to be mindful of this.

Truth and consequences, bad choices and more importantly, the positive impact of applying some wisdom in approaching the circumstances of my life - these would be what I would like to get out from the study of this book.

Beginnings of wisdom.

What is wisdom?

A lot of meanings can be given to this word. It holds the concepts of discernment, prudence, sensibility - knowing what is true and right combined with good judgment. Some say that what is true and right is subjective. It depends on the person - his values, mostly what he believes in, his so-called faith in life.

I am reading into the book of Proverbs from the bible and I intend to find out for myself the truths that this book offers.

It begins with the the central message of the entire book - the pursuit of wisdom. And so my question at the beginning of this post - what is wisdom?

To begin, I wish to think about where wisdom comes from - the source.

Can one be born with wisdom? Or, are we each given some measure of wisdom when we come into this world?

Do we pick up wisdom through our parents if they teach us how to conduct our lives as they raise us? From fathers who know when to admonish(punish) and encourage(be around)? From mothers who understand when to advise(nag) and when to listen(keep quiet)?

I have talked to teenagers whose lives have become quite "messy" because they were raised by parents who did not know how to teach them basic skills in life. Yet there are also those who have learnt their lessons in living and gave credit to their parents whom they regard as wise.

I subscribe to the idea that all of us are bestowed with a certain measure of intellect when we first come into this world. And this quality helps us in our thinking which in turn assists us in our understanding of a lot of the experiences that we go through. A young child learns some "wisdom" as he grows up going through all kinds of good and bad experiences. He learns to remember them, to identify them and should he encounter them again, he should know how to deal with them.

As to the people who are involved in our upbringing - there is certainly no question about their influences and impact in the formation of our "wisdom" at the initial stages. However eventually some of this "wisdom" might disappear or change with the discoveries of other "wisdoms" as we interact with more people in our lives.

Hence the source of wisdom - more from nurture, our environment, who we come in contact with? How many percent?

How about what we choose to do? This is regardless of our upbringing, nor who we mix with. It's more to do with what we finally decide to do - the actions which come from our own decisions. Yes, I know some people would tell me this would still involve the environment around the person. I don't deny this. Even if the person mingles minimally with his environment, it's still a matter of his choice to do so.

"Wisdom" that is self-taught? One that is concocted by oneself through a conscious deliberation of the mind? How much of this is existent in all of us?

And so my thoughts continue......