I’m quite certain I will never be asked to give the commencement speech to any graduating class, but if I were, I believe I would speak on the values of not only reading, but following the Book of Proverbs daily. Perhaps titling my speech, A Proverb a Day Makes a Body … well, I’ll need to work on the title later.  

Anyhoo, the Book of Proverbs, for the most part was written by King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, for his son. He states that himself at the beginning, “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel” and goes on to add that the purpose for reading should be,

 “for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young— let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.” Proverbs 1:2-6.

I was once told long ago that, “Every answer to every question one could possibly have in this life is found in The Book of Proverbs!” Imagine for a moment- every question? What would you like to know? Are there any questions pertaining to life that you’ve wondered about?

Within this book lies our guide to this life, if you’re willing to do a little digging! There are 31 chapters in this book and 31 days in some months. If you were to read one chapter a day, coinciding with the calendar, just imagine the wisdom you’d glean in just one year’s time!

I recommend  starting out with a question and then as you read along, highlight everything you find pertaining to that question. For example, an a young mother,  I was once horrible at discipline. My children were getting away with much more than they should’ve been, and the enemy had convinced me that if I began to discipline them as I should that, that’s all I’d be doing all day! BUT, when I finally got serious and started not only investigating, but also following all that Proverbs had to say, I found quite the opposite happened! A peace came over my home!! Yes, peace!  When my children realized momma meant what she said, they stopped misbehaving. We actually got to enjoy one another and our time together!

The Book of Proverbs also has a LOT to say about our words. Too many words spoken at all the wrong times was another issue I struggled with. In fact, I left my kitchen facet dripping for weeks, perhaps months, I can’t remember exactly now, until I nailed down that, “A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip on a rainy day.” (Pr. 27:15) I needed to stop nagging! I had to learn to lovingly state what I had to say once, and then turn it all over to God and remain quiet. That also brought peace in our marriage and home! But, I must also tell you, that the Holy Spirit still quite often has to remind me about that facet.

Do you see the pattern here? It’s not just the gleaning of wisdom that’s important it’s in the doing! It's not enough to simply know God’s Word, we need to apply it, for then we’ll also be sharing it with others when they see God’s message lived out through our lives.

Solomon was the wisest man to ever live, but he failed in following his own wisdom. The very next verse he wrote on Proverbs 1 was, “The [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of knowledge; But arrogant fools despise [skillful and godly] wisdom and instruction and self-discipline.” (Pr. 1:7). If we were to read the accounts of Solomon’s life we’ll see that somewhere along the way, Solomon seems to have stopped fearing God,

“But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites - from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.’ Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.” 1 Kings 11:1–8

Solomon failed in heeding his own warning in Proverbs 2:10-16, “When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things, from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice in doing evil, and delight in the perversity of the wicked; whose ways are crooked, and who are devious in their paths; to deliver you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words, who forsakes the companion of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God.”

I'm thankful Solomon took the time to write this wisdom down for us, but we all need to remember that his life is a perfect testimony to the fact that it isn’t enough to gain wisdom, we must live it out, and only then we’ll be blessed and be a blessing to others as well!