Ever-Increasing Wisdom

Ever-Increasing Wisdom

Proverbs 9:9 – Give instruction to a wise man and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man and he will increase in learning.

    Wisdom is always associated with humility and humility is connected to gratitude. If you are a thankful person, you are travelling on a wise path, rightly acknowledging how much you have been given, and how much more room there is to improve and mature. There are so many people that think they know everything. If you bring up a subject, they seem to want to prove how much more they know than you, whether you asked for their opinion or not. That attitude springs from a place of insecurity and hasn’t that been the blight of us all. A wise person is different; they realize that they naturally have insecurities, but are, simultaneously, secure in who they are and have no need of proving anything to others. What a great place to be in life.

    Security is what everyone longs for and endeavours to attain, and yet, it is a moving target and is extremely elusive. Wisdom does not strive for earthly security because it springs from a place of confidence and that is why a wise person can accept corrective instruction and has a willingness to learn. If a young person is loved and secure in that knowledge, then he can also be corrected and not be shaken by it. He knows that correction and improvement are normal to everyone’s life. Contrary to that, if a young person is not loved and does not know the support of family and friends, then, when he is corrected, it is a blow to his identity and his life feels like it is rapidly unravelling.

    A wise person is on the road of ever-increasing improvement and excellence. Wisdom knows that no matter how much one has developed and succeeded, there will always be a need for more knowledge, better ways of doing things and deeper character growth. By accepting correction and receiving instruction, he becomes yet wiser. That attitude of humility and teachableness makes room in his heart for more of God’s wisdom. A proud and stubborn person, however, shuts themselves off from receiving correction, thus, further limiting and hindering their personal growth.

    Have you ever tried to give a gift to someone who refused to receive it? It is impossible. Wise people are those who understand the need to receive and because of that, they have the potential for increase. The same is true if you attempt to teach something to another who thinks they already know all there is to know on that subject. Again, it is impossible.

    Years ago, my wife had many potted plants beautifying our house and she learned a lot about what it takes to keep a plant healthy. One term that she used, to describe a plant that had ceased to flourish was, root-bound. That meant that the pot was too small for the plant and it restricted the roots from expanding; it had become bound and was suffocating from its small confines. Many of us might be like that plant; if we smugly decide that we cannot learn anything else, or develop anymore, we have become root-bound and can go no further. Wisdom says, Go ahead and re-pot me. Put me in a larger place so I can expand to my created potential. Whenever a person is given instruction, or correction, or a warning, that same person is also given an opportunity. We can reject the correction and remain in the same limited boundaries, with our roots being smothered and constricted, or, we can receive the correction, thereby, enlarging the borders of our life and allowing our roots to reach deeper into the soil of wisdom, drawing up the answers and the solutions needed for the difficulties of life.