Wisdom’s Best Friends
THE GOOD LIFE – FINDING WISDOM’S BEST FRIENDS
Proverbs 3:1-4
My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;
For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.
Write them on the tablet of your heart, And so find favor and high esteem
In the sight of God and man.
NKJV
Thinking back to the days of my youth (which now seems like a lifetime ago) I recall with great fondness a couple of young men with whom I was “bound at the hip”. It would have been very rare for you to have seen one of us without seeing all three of us! We did everything together. We ate lunch at school together everyday. We played ball in the evenings together. We spent the weekends together at one another’s house. We wore one another’s clothes, laughed at one another’s jokes, and at times fought one another’s foes. Even today just thinking of them brings a smile to my face and warmth to my heart.
Wisdom has a couple of friends like that. Wisdom that offers us a long and peaceful life has some companions that will always accompany it. Find these companions and bring them into your life and wisdom will surely be close by. The first friend of Wisdom is MERCY. Mercy is an attribute of God that He has allowed men both to receive and to give. It is that element that is seen when men are not given what they deserve, but instead are given favor they could never of themselves earn or buy. Mercy is being kind to someone who does not deserve kindness. Mercy is offering help to someone who would never offer help to another. Mercy is not doing harm to someone when it is within your right AND your power to do so. It is helping the helpless, and loving the loveless. We are never more like God than we display the trait of mercy.
Along with mercy, wisdom loves to hang around truth. Truth also is an attribute of God, for God does not lie. Truth seems to be a little more hidden and withdrawn than mercy, for sometimes truth will initially bring pain. Whether it is hearing the truth or speaking the truth, its initial impact can come with a force that seems repelling. Look beyond that initial impact because the benefits of truth are long term. Living in truth means that you won’t have to lie awake at night plotting and planning stories to cover deception. Living in truth means that you may not always be accepted by the crowds but you will be able to look yourself in the mirror and be accepted by the person that looks back at you. Living in truth means you are living in the path of God and that path brings long life and blessings.
