Wisdom
The Hebrew word chokma stands for wisdom, both divine and human. Its general meaning is varied, some knowledge, e.g., of nature, of human affairs, the gift of poetic and moralistic speech, the skill to foretell the future, and to interpret dreams.
In more specific terms, wisdom is a strong ethical quality, as rooting itself in the fear of the Lord, and applying the truths of divine revelation to the various relations and circumstances of life- wisdom, in a word, is inclusive of all virtue. Source: The Biblical World. Sep. 1897, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Sep. 1897), pp. 183-189. Author: D.M. Welton
Our New Year and Future are Today
Intriguing Quotes
The Past
Our past to those who are wise is the boundary marker that guides us into the present. Some may ask the question, who among us today are the wise ones? The answer is simply those who have examined their past lives and now have gained the ability to foresee the consequences of choices that are made at the moment. [Personal paraphrased quote from Talmud, 32a]
The Present
An individual who has obtained wisdom can give up all of their tomorrows for just today so that they do not end up wasting their days on just a single tomorrow. [Personal paraphrased quote of Yosef Yozel Horwitz] To waste useless time worrying about the future is futile when we fail to make wise decisions today.
The Future
The future is not to predict but to enable. Many of us invest too much time attempting to foretell the future, while never actualizing that each lived day today, is a shadow of the future. [Personal paraphrased quote of Antoine de Saint-Exupery]
The New Year
The old year dies, and we face the New Year as though it were an entity, new as a newborn babe…, yet all our yesterdays are summarized in our now. All the tomorrows are ours to shape… and a year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. -Hal Borland.
The fruit of the Righteous is a Tree of Life and whoever captures souls is wise. Proverbs 11:30
Bearing Fruit
Those who are wise are going to manifest visible and life-giving fruits throughout their lives. There are many articles written concerning the Tree of Life, some are biblical while others are symbolic. The following shortlist is four things that the Tree of Life represents in the lives of wise people.
Connection and physical characteristics- the way that the deep roots travel in all directions into the earth, while at the same time the visible branches reach upward, this is symbolic of just how we as living souls are connected to both the heavens and earth. Both people and trees, stand upright with a crown on top and limbs stemming from a central trunk.
Strength, uniqueness, and beauty- as the Tree of life represents a large family tree we too are connected to multiple generations of family trees, representing thousands of people coming together to birth you and me into existence. Every person and every tree is unique, with no two being exactly alike. The uniqueness and diversity evident in both trees and people produce authentic interest and beauty in the world.
Growth within the elements-the strongest trees on earth has weathered the most turbulent storms. The Tree of Life like our lives represents our personal growth, the stronger the storms we overcome, the stronger person we grow into. In addition to difficult times that produce growth in our lives, both people and trees are made up of a high percentage of water. Thus without the importance of water, life as we know it would not be possible for people, trees, or anything else.
Rebirth- The Tree of Life has a life of cycles throughout the seasons, somewhat a birth-death-and rebirth cycle. We too as living souls go through birth, rebirth, and death experiences. Eventually, we transition physically, thus the years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Psalm 90:10 [Content source in this section was gleaned from, The Living Urn Blog, The Special Relationship Between People and Trees, June 9, 2019]
God’s Wisdom is a Tree of Life
The Wisdom of our Creator grants long life, which is in her right hand, and her left hand, riches, honor, and righteousness [Prov. 8:18] He who pursues righteousness and kindness finds life, prosperity, and honor [Prov.21:21].
Wisdom’s ways are pleasant; thus, the fruit of knowledge is in the actions it produces, and all her paths are peaceful.
Godly wisdom is a Tree of Life to those who embrace her, and to those who hold on to her are happy and called blessed. Proverbs 3:16-18
Seeking God’s Perspective
Closing Sentiments
Today is our future.
It is my prayer that those who read this end-of-the-year blog post will seek Godly wisdom each day for the rest of their life. Godly wisdom starts with the fear of God and results in a spiritually redeemed, and sanctified life.
The wisdom of the world, on the other hand, is not concerned with honoring God but with pleasing ourselves exclusively. The essential difference between the two is that with worldly wisdom, we are planning to be successful only for the things pertaining to this life.
James communicates in his writings that there is the wisdom of man that is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic” and full of “envy and selfish ambition.” There is the wisdom of God, “the wisdom that comes from heaven, is first of all pure… James 3
Godly wisdom enables us to serve and honor God now, while also preparing ourselves for eternity. With the spiritual wisdom of God, we trade earthly values for biblical values [1 John 2:15-16].
With Godly wisdom, we recognize we have dual citizenship of another kingdom, thus we now can successfully make choices that reflect that God-centered allegiance. Having godly wisdom means we strive to see our life between space and time from God’s perspective and live accordingly.
How is it that those who are wise live life? Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. Colossians 1:10
Grace and Peace
Brother Alonzo
