Day 155

Continuing in Proverbs today, the words keep piercing my heart.

4:7 says, ‘getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!
And whatever else you do, develop good judgment”. It is a constant thing; as my daughter said, it is not a destination. We are required or advised to keep growing it. My daughter asked how we would always know something is right or not, as sometimes, certain things appear okay. I understood where she was coming from, and one of the things I told her was that as we all go through this journey called life, we learn how to handle different situations and adjust our approach to things, as not all is black and white. It is called discernment (good sense of judgement). I also told her that asking older people also helps, and similar scenarios may require different approaches. Some may even not go well, but the lesson would be to think through how things could be handled differently. As those things happen, we learn how and what approach is needed in different situations. And this is why the verse says develop it.

Chapter 6 talks about where you have guaranteed someone’s debt. It kind of recognises it as being in debt yourself and that you are now at your friend’s mercy to pay that debt. It further says, ‘swallow your pride and beg that your name is erased’. Essentially, clearing yourself. This is interesting because this is a space I play in. Many people guarantee others, even friends, and they have their fingers burnt. Unfortunately, their names are soiled in the process. Some guarantors understand this and step in to clear their names; others simply ignore it until they go elsewhere for a loan and are turned down for guaranteeing someone. Their names are not cleared. Being a guarantor is not a joke and should be taken seriously. Okay, so this isn’t a credit class, but, interestingly, it was a big deal that needed to be mentioned as far back as Solomon’s.

There is so much wisdom to learn from and develop irrespective of our age, status and achievements.