"When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:"
Proverbs 2:10-11
Discretion is defined as:
1. the quality of having or showing discernment or good judgement
2. the ability to make responsible decisions
3. the individual choice or judgement
4. the result of separating or distinguishing
Discretion (as mentioned in Proverbs) is the decision we make when differentiating between right and wrong. But how will we know when we are making the right choice? Sometimes, it seems as if the "right" decision eludes us. Our human minds like to justify our actions. I don't know about you, but my mind can justify just about any decision I make.
This is a silly "for instance," but I can justify polishing off an entire bag of potato chips by telling myself that I will eat better tomorrow and I can work it off. When that stomach ache hits about an hour later though, I know that I made the wrong decision despite the fact that I planned to work it off.
We often justify our actions, so that we can get immediate gratification. But when that "stomach ache" hits us later, we know that it was a bad decision despite us making it "right" in our own minds.
Thankfully, the Bible talks about how we can obtain true discretion. It is when wisdom entereth into thine heart. There is a difference between knowing what is wise and heeding what is wise. It is only when you allow wisdom to penetrate into your heart and reside there that you will find true wisdom and knowledge.
Wisdom is like the leaven in dough. You only need a little bit of leaven for it to penetrate the whole lump of dough. When we allow wisdom to enter our hearts, it will affect all of our outward actions. We will want to do right, and we will not think that we can overcome the wrong decisions we make because we will not make them to begin with!
True wisdom seems so unattainable, but James 1:5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally." You see... all you have to do is ask!!!
There is no excuse for the "stomach aches" of life we create because God has given us the wisdom to avoid those situations if we ask for it.
Labels: Bible, Weekly Verse
