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Wisdom is Hard


     My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path.For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.(Prov 2:1-11)

       There's a creative "reality" program I've enjoyed called Face Off that pits makeup artists, creature designers and the like against one another. One episode had the interesting twist of requiring the judges to lead teams in their challenges. In the course of the competition, one of them suddenly said, "Face Off is hard."
            Reading the passage today, I have something of the same response. To gain wisdom we have to:
accept (wise) words
store up commands
turn our ears to wisdom
apply our hearts (will) to understanding (mind)
call out for insight
cry aloud for understanding
look for wisdom as for silver (which is mined and must be refined)
search for it as for hidden treasure
            then we will understand the fear of the LORD
                         then we will find the knowledge of God
                                    then we will understand what is right and just and fair
                                                then wisdom will enter our hearts (wills.)
           For some reason, we tend to associate wisdom with age. Many associate wisdom with age. Specifically, they associate it with either their current age group, or perhaps just a little bit older. The assumption is that wisdom comes naturally with that demographic. We have ample evidence that it doesn't, but we hold on to the myth.
            Part of that myth is that the wisdom comes while we are passive. It happens to us as a result of living life. I think that might be a formula for shrewdness, but wisdom takes more than that. It takes more than cunning. It takes more than cunning and caring or compassion, though it includes those. Wisdom requires shrewdness or cunning, caring or compassion and submission to God and they are not dictated by age.
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Birthday of
Rene Descartes,
Edward Fitzgerald,
Franz Joseph Hayden  Andrew Lang

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