Wisdom is the Principle Thing
Proverbs 4:1-7 NKJ
Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to
know understanding; for I give you good doctrine: do not forsake my
law. When I was my father’s son, tender and the only one in the sight
of my mother, he also taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart
retain my words; keep my commands, and live. Get wisdom! Get
understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my
mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; love her, and
she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get
wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.”
Proverbs 4:7-8 NLT
“Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else
you do, develop good judgment. If you prize wisdom, she will make
you great. Embrace her, and she will honor you.”
Proverbs 3:13-18 NCV
Happy is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gets
understanding. Wisdom is worth more than silver; it brings more profit
than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you could
want is equal to it. With her right hand wisdom offers you a long life,
and with her left hand she gives you riches and honor. Wisdom will
make your life pleasant and will bring you peace. As a tree produces
fruit, wisdom gives life to those who use it, and everyone who uses it
will be happy.
Proverbs 8:17-21 NLT
“I love all who love me. Those who search will surely find me. I have
riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice. My gifts are
better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling
silver! I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice. Those who love me
inherit wealth. I will fill their treasuries.”
Three Ways We Grow in Wisdom:
- Meditations
Joshua 1:8 NKJ
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall
meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to
all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous,
and then you will have good success.”
Luke 12:15 NKJ
And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for
one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he
possesses.” - Associations
Proverbs 13:20 MSG
Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch
your life fall to pieces. - Dedications
Matthew 6:19-21 NKJ
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:24 NKJ
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Three Areas That Will Help You Handle Money Well:
- Wisdom in Thinking
Hosea 4:6 NKJ
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”
Proverbs 12:15 NKJ
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel
is wise. - Wisdom in Living
Three Main Things:
- Develop a skill that is marketable and produces an income relevant
to the times. - Develop a lifestyle that is willing to sacrifice early to build a
foundation for the middle and latter stages of life.
Proverbs 13:7 NIV
One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to
be poor, yet has great wealth. - Develop a strategy to make your money work for you not against
you.
Proverbs 21:20 NIV
The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs
down.
- Wisdom in Giving
Proverbs 11:24-25 NIV
One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds
unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
2 Corinthians 8:15 NKJ
As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he
who gathered little had no lack.”
2 Corinthians 9:6 AMP
Now [remember] this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to others] will
also reap generously [and be blessed]