There is a wealth of wisdom available to everyone in the book of Proverbs. Steven Scott, a highly successful entrepreneur, relates his experiences this week on LIFE Today.
“I lost nine jobs in my first six years after college,” he says. Though he worked hard and did what he thought was right, he was stuck in a dead-end pattern. He sought help from his friend Gary Smalley, who urged him to not just read the book of Proverbs repeatedly, but apply it in his career. It changed everything for him.
“On job number nine, using the wisdom from Proverbs,” Steven says, “I doubled the company’s sales from $30 million to $60 million.” What did he learn that helped him not just financially, but in every area?
Solomon’s book of wisdom tells us in the opening chapter, “The fear of the Lord,” which also means respect, “is the beginning of knowledge” (v.7). If we have no regard for God, no reverence for who He is, or no sense of His perfect and good will, we cannot even begin to understand His truth. It also warns that only fools despise wisdom and instruction. But when we listen, everything changes.
For Steven, it showed up quickly in his career, but it’s important to note that it’s not a “get rich quick” guide. It’s far deeper and more spiritual than that, even as it impacts our daily lives.
“I never chased money,” Steven says. “Proverbs says if you chase after wealth it will take up wings like an eagle and fly off into the heavens. But he said, ‘In all labor, there is profit.’ So you guys do your labor and God blesses it.”
To fully appreciate the words of King Solomon, it is important to understand how the wisdom of the Proverbs helps us every day:
To know wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of understanding,
To receive instruction in wise behavior,
Righteousness, justice and equity;
To give prudence to the naive,
To the youth knowledge and discretion,
A wise man will hear and increase in learning,
And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
(v.2-6)
Learning how to incorporate knowledge brings understanding. Learning how to utilize it brings wisdom. The promise is that it will be a visible attribute to those who take hold of these truths.
Hear, my son, your father’s instruction
And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;
Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head
And ornaments about your neck.
(v.8-9)
God wants to make His wisdom known to us. It’s not hidden in some secret code or mystical interpretation. It was written out, preserved through centuries, and now is more available than at any other time in history. Even more importantly, wisdom lives inside of believers in the power of the Holy Spirit. We simply need to listen to the voice and follow.
Wisdom shouts in the street,
She lifts her voice in the square;
At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
“How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?
And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing
And fools hate knowledge?
“Turn to my reproof,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.” (v.20-23)
Steven Scott testifies from his personal and professional life that Solomon’s wisdom changes everything. “It answers every question any of us could ever have about anything…. Proverbs has the answer.”
The first chapter closes with the wonderful guarantee that “he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.” (v.33) In a world of uncertainty and confusion, God’s word offers us tremendous security and clarity. Join us this week on television as we explore the power of Proverbs.
