“To acquire wisdom is to love yourself; people who cherish understanding will prosper” (Prov. 19:8.)
There are lots of ways in which we can love ourselves. Shakespeare in Hamlet famously wrote: ‘This above all: to thine own self be true.’ In other words, Shakespeare was saying to only do that which you think is right, to always act according to your own true nature, and all will be well.
The trouble is, the heart of man can’t always be trusted to do that which is right. A quick look at the tragedy and sadness filling the news and you realise that there is a lot of hurt in this world because people do act according to their own selfish thinking.
There is a different way and it is spelled out for us in the Proverbs. We can obtain wisdom to develop our true nature so that our thoughts and actions will bring life to ourselves and others.
When we take the trouble to acquaint ourselves with God we will go through life gaining knowledge, grace and wisdom from our successes and disappointments. It’s like a gift we give to ourselves – we are loving ourselves. We will find happiness now and ever after.
A good man in the eyes of God, therefore, is one that loves himself. He will strive with everything within him to get wisdom and prudence from reading, meditating and praying about the things of God and carefully protect these qualities from neglect.
The simplest, most direct way to acquire wisdom is to simply ask. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should just ask God and it will be given to you.
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (James 1:5).
Wisdom starts with asking Jesus to be your Saviour and trusting in Him to teach us His ways. Here is a prayer to help you get started:
Dear God,
I come to the cross by faith in Your word, confessing to You that I’m a sinner. I’m sorry for my sin. I believe Jesus died as Your sacrifice for my sin. I’m willing to turn away from my sin. I ask you to forgive me in His name and to cleanse me of all of my sin…past, present, and future…with His blood.
Take away my shame and my guilt.
And I believe He rose from the dead to give me eternal life, opening Heaven for me. I ask You to not only forgive me, but to give me eternal life in His name. I open up my heart and invite Jesus to come live inside of me in the person of the Holy Spirit.
I surrender to Him the control of my life. I choose this day to start living for You.
Thank You for hearing my prayer. Thank You for answering my prayer. Thank you for giving me Jesus!
Amen.[1]
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*All quotes from NLT.
[1] From https://www.annegrahamlotz.org/jesus-gods-living-word/ accessed 28.9.2022