Words For Wise Living

Words for Wise Living

[Solomon] composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs.

1 Kings 4:32

My friend Suzanne Woods Fisher used to have a radio show called Amish Wisdom, and one thing she always said was, “If you want to know a people, understand their proverbs.” While these days the use of proverbs in our everyday life is not common, it is very common among the Amish. They share them, repeat them, and scribes even include them at the ends of the letters that they send to the Budget.

Proverbs help point us toward wisdom, toward good judgment, and toward God’s teachings. They’re for anyone who seeks guidance for everyday circumstances. Here are some Amish proverbs that I like:

• Good character like good soup is usually homemade.
• It is better to give others a piece of your heart than a piece of your mind.
• A child can read a parent’s character before he can read the alphabet.
• Bibles that are coming apart usually belong to people who are not.

The use of proverbs for teaching and training isn’t new. The book of Proverbs describes their purpose at the beginning of the first chapter: “to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young. Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles” (Proverbs 1:2-6).

If you haven’t spent time in the book of Proverbs lately, dig in. One way to do it is to read one chapter of Proverbs every day for a month (there are thirty-one chapters). Also, as the Amish (and Solomon) remind us, truth is meant to be shared. If we do not fill our minds and hearts with God’s Word and with wisdom, the world will be quick to fill the void.

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for sharing Your truth. Thank You for Your promise that when we pray for wisdom, You will always answer our request.