Look Inside. Look Around. What do you see? Show Me #19

 1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
    to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
    in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
    knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
    and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
    fools despise wisdom and instruction.

(Proverbs 1)

Proverbs. I often used think of them as short, pithy statements about the best way to live, but they are so much more.  Some of them are actually much longer. The word itself is also translated "oracle, taunt, and parable," so you cannot just step up to the vending machine and get your "proverb for the day." Actually, the introduction above does tell us the purpose of the book: to gain wisdom, knowledge and understanding about life; for those who are unwise to gain wisdom and those who are wise to gain more wisdom; and   most of all for us to live life the way God designed: in the fear of the Lord. That phrase in itself has stirred up a lot of controversy (by the way, the verb form is also translated "stir up, churn, and twist"), so the idea is not to give us an easy set of rules to live by, but to help us come to grips with what it is to live life fully in God's presence, and therefore live life to the full.  Interestingly, that's one of the stated reasons Christ came: so that we might have life, abundant life, life lived to the full.  So look inside, then look around: in your life, on your wall, on the news - where do you see wisdom, the need for it? - in your life and those around? Take a picture of that poster, post an article, take a selfie of you reading that proverb. Then post it, text or email it.  Share the wealth. We all need more wisdom.