5 Steps to get smarter and wiser! Really.


Proverbs 9:9--I have great news! Proverbs is right, we can learn more and become more wise! Yay!

Science has proven this passage as well. Neuroplasticity exists: You can grow brain cells and get smarter. It’s just a matter of how.

I researched a few articles that discuss how to increase our intelligence, and they bore a resemblance to our Wisdom Journey.

Here are a few to get us going:
  1. Manage your time. The "D" word gets a lot of bad press, but let's face it, being disciplined is still the best time manager out there. Regulating our entertainment as well as how much we work or sleep goes a long way in giving us more time to read, to exercise, to fellowship--the things that build character and a well-balanced individual. (Proverbs 13:4)
  2. Reading. Scientists have discovered that simply the act of reading increases intelligence. Imagine how consistent reading of Scripture, including Proverbs, will increase our ability to discern GOD's will in our life. Wisdom will come into our heart and knowledge will be our pleasant to our soul when we regularly read His word. (Proverbs 2:10)
  3. Meditate on GOD's word. You can’t learn if you don’t remember. Memory functions through repetition. When you repeat a fact, you set the wheels of memory in motion again. Repetitive learning increases the retention of knowledge. That's why many of us have chosen to read and re-read certain portions of Scripture daily: the Torah, Proverbs, Psalms, as well as our regular studies. (Joshua 1:8)
  4. Exercise. Have you ever done a prayer walk? It's simply praying while walking. Sometimes walking and worship in the sunshine does wonders for the heart, soul, and waistline. And as I recall there were some folks who walked and GOD tore down a rather large wall. (Joshua 6:1-27) Why not walk with someone on the same Wisdom Journey--think of all the great conversations you can have!
  5. Keep Intelligent/Wise company. Who we hang with plays a role in our wisdom journey. We know being unequally yoked with unbelievers is not wise when it comes to fellowship, but we can do more to increase our wisdom and intelligence by having friends who challenge us to be who GOD created us to be than people who know how to party. If we walk with the wise (see #4) we can learn even more. (Proverbs 13:20)

These are a few easy ways to increase your wisdom. I'd love to hear your ideas, too.

May we be wiser still, my friends.

Proverbs 9:9--Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still. Teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning. Tree of Life Bible SocietyTree of Life Version - TLV #tlvbible #tlvproverbs
[WATCH Tree of Life Bible Society's CEO, Daniah Greenberg and me, Terri Gillespie dig a little deeper with this proverb. Check us out at Tree of Life Bible Society, Monday through Friday, LIVE at 8:30am EST. Watch previous episodes there as well. Stay wise, my friends!]

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WISDOM'S JOURNEY: Are you being diverted? Proverbs 4:27

Image
Are you being diverted? TODAY'S PROVERB: Do not turn to the right or to the left. Divert your foot from evil. Proverbs 4:27 I love flying at night. It's a vivid perspective of just how small we really are. Looking at the expanse of the sky with its stars is peaceful, stable. Gazing below at the man-made lights that glow with seemingly brighter intensity. But, that glow is temperamental. Subject to the frailties of humanity and technology, and believe it or not, dependent upon the grace of God. This verse reminds me that until we rise above our humanity, we'll be diverted from the bigness of the Creator of the Universe. It seems our world offers a plethora of distractions. They don't have to be evil, they simply have to be distractions that lead to diverting us from God's calling and purpose in our life. Like the bright city lights, they can drown out the still, small pinpricks of true light from the stars. Until we rise above. What are some of the distract...
Read more

WISDOM'S JOURNEY: Are you a voice for God's covenant? Proverbs 2:16-17

Image
Are you a voice for God's covenant? TODAY'S PROVERB: ...to deliver you from a seducing woman—a wayward wife with seductive words, who forsakes the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. Proverbs 2:16-17 Infidelity. The last few generations tend to think infidelity was something they created. For certain they have developed it into an art form using film, music, literature, and now, social media. Throughout Scrip ture and history, women have played as much of a role in this sin as men. Honestly, as women, we should know better. These days, women tend to look at fornication and adultery as their rights -- their choice. We can justify and defend all we want, but the truth is that it all boils down to this: our choice is whether we sin or don't sin. Not a popular thing to say. There's nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Humanity has been sinning since the Garden. And infidelity has the same patterns and outcomes as it did thousands of y...
Read more

WISDOM'S JOURNEY: Are you lame or reliable? Proverbs 25:19

Image
Are you lame or reliable? TODAY'S PROVERB: Like a broken tooth or a lame foot is confidence in the unfaithful in time of trouble. Proverbs 25:19 I have a "trick" ankle. There appears to be no rhyme or reason when it decides to give out. I'll take a step and it's like the bones turn to rubber. A misstep on stairs or a ladder or while carrying something can be treacherous. If I knew what caused the weakness then I could avoid  placing demands on it. But, alas, I don't know, so I can never fully trust it. Today's proverb counsels us about "trick ankle" people. Do you have people like this in your life? For the most part, they are reliable, but at unpredictable -- and inevitably important moments -- they are not reliable. Even when we forgive them for these events, we're still unsure if we can depend on them. It leaves a small residue on our ability to trust them completely -- at least for a season. My ankle is a vivid reminder of the import...
Read more