G'day friends, it's Pastor Joe here from the Helping You Become podcast. In this episode, we dove into Proverbs chapter 4, emphasising the pursuit of God's wisdom as the principal thing in life. We explored verse 7 from the Amplified Bible: "The beginning of wisdom is: get wisdom, skillful and godly wisdom! For skilful and godly wisdom is the principal thing. And with all you have gotten, get understanding, discernment, comprehension, and interpretation."

I unpacked the Hebrew word for "principal" – re'shiyth – meaning the first in place, time, order, or rank, like first-fruits or the chief thing. We must deliberately seek, learn, and apply God's wisdom daily, and crucially, pass it on to our children and grandchildren from a young age. Imagine if our parents had ingrained this in us from three years old – it would become first nature, creating unstoppable momentum towards living in God's ways.

I reflected on how different our lives could be, drawing from Luke chapter 2, where young Jesus at age 12 astonished the teachers with his depth of scriptural understanding. Perhaps Mary taught him systematically. This isn't pie in the sky; it's a practical step to build godly wisdom into generations.

Moving on, verses 8-9 promise that prizing wisdom exalts us, bringing honour, grace, and glory. But remember, true wisdom is grounded in the reverent fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7), sourced from God through His Word and relationship with Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit.

In verses 10-12, the fatherly plea is clear: "Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life shall be many. I have taught you in the way of skilful and godly wisdom... When you walk, your steps shall not be hampered; your path will be clear and open; and when you run, you shall not stumble." This contrasts with the wicked who stumble in darkness (Proverbs 4:19). God's wisdom separates us from worldly ways, clearing obstacles like pushing through brambles to reach a trout stream – a memory from my New Zealand youth!

We then turned to Deuteronomy 4:5-6, where Moses instructs: "Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances... So keep them and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'"

The process is key: Learn God's ways first, then apply them, demonstrate wisdom publicly, and it becomes a powerful witness – even evangelising nations through biblical principles in action. What an opportunity to raise a generation steeped in God's wisdom from toddlerhood!

Join me next week as we continue this study. Head to livingsuccess.org to subscribe – it's free, with heaps of resources to help you grow in Christ. God bless you all!