Prov 23:23 Get the truth and never sell it: also get wisdom, discipline and good judgment.
We obtain truth from God’s Word and Spirit. It is timeless and never changes. But fads do change and should never replace God’s Truth. We are never to “sell out” to peer pressure or current fads or culture (which changes daily). Whenever we hear a wind of doctrine or change in the wind, we always weigh its truth by God’s Word. Although it might be currently trending to accept same sex marriage, it doesn’t mean that is in truth the way God planned things. Our emotions are never true either. They change daily.
This passage instructs us to “get wisdom”. I like to think of wisdom as knowing how to apply truth or knowledge to life. For example, we may know it’s right to forgive. But wisdom knows how to do that when the situation arises that merits it. There’s a direct correlation between the amount of truth we have had revealed to us and how much wisdom we have. Maturity comes both through years as well as application.
Discipline is needed to obtaining truth and seeing fruitfulness in my life. If I have no discipline to read my Bible or pray, then I will have no truth revealed to me. Without truth I have no wisdom. Discipline is also key to walking a life of the spirit. The first thing I must discipline is myself. Disciplining my mind to think God’s thoughts and my body to not yielding to wrong places and associations are examples.
Good judgment- is rightly applying truth and wisdom to life’s situations by yielding to the Spirit of God’s counsel. Rules have their place, but good judgment will cause you to know the right thing to say or do in every situation. Good judgment will keep you from repeating gossip or saying something that will elevate a heated discussion. It’s not always about having our say or even saying anything. We don’t need to always have the final word. Is being right more important than maintaining a relationship? Recently a friend was settling his father’s estate. The trustees were part of the sibling group. My friend showed good judgment when he included a sibling who was not actually a trustee to be included in the final auction of their father’s estate. His comment to me was it was more important to include all the siblings in the decisions so they could begin talking together than it was to quibble over money.
So to summarize my thoughts on this amazing scripture:
- Truth will lead us to wisdom
- Wisdom is knowing how to apply knowledge to a situation
- Discipline will keep the spirit in charge of the flesh and soul
- Good judgment comes from listening to the Spirit of God
