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"Give Your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern Your people, that I may discern between good and evil...” (1 Kings 3:9).
Have you ever heard the phrase, “pull themselves up by their bootstraps”? We typically hear this phrase and apply it to someone with initiative and drive, an individual who advances their position through their work ethic and knowledge.
Did you know that this phrase didn’t originally convey that meaning? According to www.uselessetymology.com, the phrase originated in a late 19th-century physics textbook and meant an impossible task. Isn’t it funny how language is dynamic?
Today, we treat wisdom as “pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.” I learn skills, practice them, and perform them in the workplace. Through time and effort, I become wise. Wisdom is generally understood in culture to be the collection of knowledge and experiences combined with sound judgment. In other words, wisdom is about me.
As I reflect on the heart of the matter, Solomon comes to mind. When God offers to give the king whatever he asks for, he replies, “Give Your servant therefore an understanding mind [listening heart] to govern Your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this Your great people?” (1 Kings 3:9). Solomon asks God for the gift of wisdom, literally translated from the Hebrew as "listening heart." King Solomon is commonly considered synonymous with wisdom, but the wisdom that he had was not from within. He asked for and received it from God.
You cannot pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, and you cannot be wise by looking within yourself. True wisdom only comes from God. He is the giver of all good gifts. Turn to Him in His Word and in prayer. Ask that He would give you a listening heart that is more inclined toward Him each day, desiring His forgiveness and guidance.
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