Another 30 Days of Wisdom. Wise?

Nathan: 00:00

A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of

understanding will attain wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.”

Solomon. Proverbs 1:5-6. Hi, it’s Nathan, and this is day 2 of ANOTHER 30 Days of Wisdom. Have you ever been called a ‘wise guy?’ Not really a compliment, right?

Let’s talk about what it really means to be a wise person. Did you know, that

according to the author of Proverbs, being wise isn’t about how well you can answer questions or how good you are at making decisions? I’m serious!! Being wise is an attitude rather than a mental ability. That is, being wise is FIRST, a disposition toward listening and learning. Really. So the person who always seems to have a thoughtful word or clever insight may not actually be wise. How often have they stopped to really listen? How open are they to actually learning new things?

First, this fact is a helpful kind of self-test, if you’re curious to know whether you’re wise or not. It’s made of two questions. First, on a scale of 1-10, how often do you genuinely listen to understand? Second, on a scale of 1-10, how open are you to doing new things or abandoning old ideas based on solid insight from those you don’t usually agree with?

Now, one final thought: if you’re looking to find someone who is more likely to give you good counsel, one simple question can pretty much give you all the insight you need: are they thoughtful, intentional listeners? If not, look elsewhere.