Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.
—Proverbs 4:7
In Paul’s list of nine Spirit-given gifts, the first two are wisdom and knowledge (1 Cor 12:8).
Sometimes the two coexist, but not always. All of us have known someone of little formal education who possessed extraordinary wisdom and someone of extensive academic knowledge who was lacking in wisdom.
In the first nine chapters of Proverbs, Solomon personified wisdom and urged commitment to seeking it. In Proverbs 2:2–4 he used numerous active verbs that should describe our efforts to gain wisdom: “incline your ear,” “apply your heart,” “cry out for discernment,” “lift up your voice for understanding,” “seek her as silver,” and “search for her as for hidden treasures.”
“If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God . . . and it will be given you” (Jas 1:5).
The first ingredient in achieving wisdom
is to be wise enough to seek it.