Wisdom and Honesty

Proverbs 2:6-9 – The Lord gives wisdom. Knowledge and understanding come from his mouth. He stores up success for honest people. He is like a shield to those who live without blame. He guards the path of those who are honest. He watches over the way of his faithful ones. You will understand what is right and honest and fair. You will understand the right way to live. (NIrV)

As with so much of the Bible, it is easy to be surprised by the connections it makes. Anyone who has read Proverbs might know that wisdom is described as a commodity one should aggressively pursue. But today’s passage shows a subtle but interesting consequence of the pursuit of wisdom. We are told that God gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. But an offshoot of this is honesty.

Honesty is seen as an extension of wisdom. It is what God uses to grant success to his people. Honesty and blamelessness are shields of protection for God’s people. By wisdom, we should understand what is right, honest, and fair.

In our pursuit of wisdom and understanding, one litmus test we might use to determine whether we are becoming wiser is whether we are becoming more honest. Are we interested in what is true, right, and fair?