Walking with the Wise

“He who walks with wise men will be wise” (NKJ)

“If you want to grow in wisdom, spend time with the wise,” (TPT)

Remember – a proverb is a timeless truth in a simple illustration that exposes a fundamental reality of life.

These proverbs we are reading through were written by a very wise and clever and anointed man who loved God and was inspired by the Holy Spirit to record these truths.

But, let us not forget that there are all sorts of other proverbs written by other people for other contexts. I found some that are culturally different!

Cultural proverbs are a storehouse of community wisdom.

Interpretation from Persian – “It is better to be in chains with friends, than to be in a garden with strangers.”

Interpretation from Japanese – “When a character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.”

A wise mentor, a wise friend, a wise person is a necessity in this life fraught with dangers and difficulties and choices.

Solomon obviously thought so too.

In the new testament Paul also talks of the wisdom of friends – 1 Cor 15:3 he quotes a proverb “Bad company corrupts good character”

When we are in the company of a group of friends a lot we begin to mimic their behaviours, their language, their habits!

Ever seen that before? I know I do it when I hang out with my mate Christine!

When we first started the church, I prayed a ridiculous prayer (or so I thought) – it went something like this (with variations over the years) “Oh God, please let my children’s best friends come from church!”

Why ridiculous? Because they only saw that group of people for a very short time every week - how was that going to be possible?

BUT GOD HEARD THIS MUMMY…  My children have had the awesome privilege of being friends with the most wonderful people who belonged to the family of God. I do believe that in their teenage years, as peer pressure took precedence over what we as parents said, my kids’ friends held them and helped them to walk wisely.

Did they have any sway over those friends? I am sure they did but TOGETHER, in community, walking wisely together they have all made some good Godly decisions.

I am truly grateful to God for that.

If you have someone smart, inspiring, and admirable in your life who lives a Godly life, keep on walking with them.

We all need a friend who inspires us to be better people without making us feel inadequate. Plus, being around such a person will challenge us to better ourselves every day. Jesus’ disciples were transformed after being around Him for 3 years!

The wise mentor in your life doesn’t have to be someone who shares the same

occupation or hobbies with you. It’s simply someone who’s a few steps ahead of you in life and has enough wisdom and patience to guide you in the right direction.

If you want to grow in wisdom – walk with the wise!