Text: James 3:13; Proverbs 1:7
Key verse: Ecclesiastes 10:10: “If the axe is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success,” (NKJV).
David built his kingdom by military might to the point that when he wanted to build a house for God, God rejected his proposal and said to him: “You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for me,” (1 Chronicles 22:8). Solomon inherited a military might from his father. He had massive kingdom to maintain by wars. In 1Kings 2:5-6, when David was about to die, he told Solomon not to allow Joab die a peaceful death. Solomon kept asking himself: how do I keep this kingdom, by might or something else? One question he kept asking himself is what can be greater than weapons of war? In 2 Chronicles 1:6, Solomon decided to kill a thousand bulls and sacrifice it unto God and there was blood everywhere and that night God appeared to him and told him, ask for whatever you want me to give you (1 Kings 3:5). Solomon asked God to give him wisdom. What else is greater than the weapons of war if not wisdom?
God empowered Solomon with a kind of wisdom that no one have ever had in the Middle East. Solomon was so much anointed with wisdom that Queen of Sheba came from the East to Jerusalem to hear him (2 Chronicles 9:1-13 and 1 Kings 10:1-12). She came with gold, spices and precious stones. She asked Solomon difficult questions and he answered all of them. Wisdom is the answer to life’s difficult questions and problems.
By divine wisdom Solomon developed a template of governance that was peaceful throughout his tenure. He married 1000 ladies and kept all of them without war – that is wisdom. Wisdom gives you stability. You need wisdom to navigate every season of your life. Mike Murdock said: “Every problem in your life is simply a wisdom problem.
Proverbs 4:7a says: “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom.” The capital benefit of wisdom is direction. Not every step leads forward; some steps leads backward. It is not having money in the bank, but to know how to draw from it. Wisdom shows you the next step to go. For example, it was wisdom that showed Zacchaeus the way to go despite human limitations. It gave him strategic foresights to overcome the crowd and see Jesus (Luke 19:1-6). Wisdom is an advantage because it gives you understanding. The purpose of wisdom is multifaceted. Wisdom births discernment of the invisible intents, agendas and motives of those around you. The purpose of wisdom, according to Proverbs chapters 2-4, is to give you discerning between evil men and righteous men.
You will never fail alone, and you will never succeed alone. It is wisdom to be able to discern and know that someone is giving you a piece of wrong advice that may lead to failure. It is also wisdom to discern and know what is a good counsel and follow it. God can give you a miracle of money, but you cannot protect it, you cannot keep it, you cannot multiply it. That is the purpose of wisdom. Wisdom helps you to apply the principles that multiply money. Wisdom teaches you how to engage principles of wealth creation to stay out of poverty. It was wisdom for Elisha to instruct the poor widow to put into use what she had to multiply wealth, rather than what she does not have. It is wisdom to know that what will take you out of poverty lies within you and not outside of you.
• Today’s nugget: Wisdom is the principal thing. Phone Contact: 07032361509. E-mail: [email protected]. Joel Ejiofor, business coach and strategist
