Proverbs 1:3-4 (CB)

For receiving instruction in prudent behavior . . . for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young.

DISCRETION. The Hebrew words haskel (prudent behavior) ormah (prudence) and mezimma (discretion) all mean to plan and live strategically. Just as there are moral people who are not wise, so there are visionaries who see where we should go but have little idea of the practical steps for bringing the goal into reality. To be wise is to anticipate problems without falling into either the danger of overconfidence or the paralysis of overcaution. It is to know not only what to do but also when to do it. A blessing at the wrong time can have the effect of a curse (27:14). While discernment is a form of insight into hearts, discretion is a form of foresight, knowing what kinds of behaviors will lead to what result (22:3). Wisdom is, in one sense, knowing how to be “successful” at something. But it is wrong to mistake worldly sophistication for godly wisdom, as Adam and Eve did (Genesis 3:6). The ultimate wisdom was seen in Jesus, the suffering servant (Isaiah 52:13) whose success was absolute but not of a kind that the worldly sophisticates of his time could recognize.8 Remember a time when you had the discernment to know what to do but not the discretion to know how to accomplish it. What did you learn from that?

Prayer: Lord, I want to be successful, but for many wrong reasons. Do everything necessary—even bringing into my life humbling disappointments—that will teach me to care more about being faithful than about being successful. Only then will I be freed from the pride and fear that prevent true success. Amen.