Wisdom: The Principle ThingSample

Finding a Correct View of Self and God

Proverbs 30 was an oration or speech spoken by a man named Agur. Scripture doesn't mention him elsewhere, but we can see from his beginning words, he was a humble man—one who had a right view of himself.

"One mark of a man's true wisdom is his knowledge of his ignorance. Have you ever noticed how the clean heart always mourns its uncleanness; and the wise man always laments his folly? It needs holiness to detect our unholiness, and it needs wisdom to discover our own folly. When man talks of his own cleanness, his very lips are foul with pride; and when a man boasts of his wisdom, he proclaims his folly with trumpet sound. Because God had taught Agur much, he felt that he knew but little."

Spurgeon beautifully explains the experience of a person who truly has a correct view of self. The more wisdom that is placed in our hearts, the more we shall see our lack of it; the more that humility marks our life, the more our pride will be exposed.

Here is a call to hush our pride, bow in humility to Christ, and live lives that exalt Him instead. We can join Agur in his prayer: "Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need. Otherwise, I might have too much and deny you, saying. 'Who is the Lord?' or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God" (vs. 8-9).

May we grow in wisdom and humility more and more each day as we seek to know this great God whom we serve.