Wisdom and Success Part II

Wisdom For Success Part II

Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: (Proverbs 9:1)

You want to succeed in 2016 and beyond? Well here are a few nuggets that will help you. I am preparing for my year ahead which is set to be my most significant year ever. Doors are open that will totally transform my and I believe God wants to do the same for you. Wisdom is indeed the principal thing and you need to pursue wisdom with all that is within you, and I am not just talking earthly wisdom but wisdom from above. In Part one of Wisdom That Prevails I defined wisdom from a Wikipedia perspective and from a Biblical Perspective. You need them both but the one from above far supersedes the wisdom of this world, which comes to nothing.

Have a close look at the scriptures below and let them redefine your life and decision making processes.

“This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

James 3:15-17 KJV

I have always run my life by the wisdom of God which is constant and never changes. To get wisdom you have to decide to go after it and separate yourself from the enemies of wisdom. What is hindering you from walking in wisdom? What are the weights that are pulling you down in your pursuit of success?

Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. (Proverbs 18:1)

Have a look at what wisdom will do for you and how you can set yourself up for success.

1. Wisdom is a tree of life

“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.”

Proverbs 3:13-18 KJV

Make a decision to pursue wisdom in your life and you will not waste time on things that are not real. Life comes out of wisdom.

2. Fear of the Lord

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

Proverbs 9:10 KJV

Is God priority in your life? Are you in a good bible believing church? Are you serving your Pastors and brother and sisters? Do you study the word of God regularly? Are you centering your life, business, career, finances and marriage on the Word of God?

If you answered yes to all these questions you are headed in the right direction. But if you answered to no to 2 or more of these questions you are not on good ground. Check your heart and start again.

3. Humility

“When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.”

Proverbs 11:2 KJV

Do you have an attitude of humility? Do you treat other people well? Are you arrogant and self-exalted? Check your heart and make sure you are humble as this is key for your success and well being. God exalts the humble. When you fear the Lord your heart will be humble.

4. Get Counsel

“Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.”

Proverbs 13:10 KJV

“By pride and insolence comes only contention, but with the well-advised is skillful and godly Wisdom.”

Proverbs 13:10 AMP

I have seen many people ship wreck their lives and destinies simply because they are not able to get good counselors around them. I have a close relationship with my spiritual father because he is my counselor. This has helped me avoid many problems in ministry and marriage. In fact every challenge I have ever had was because I did not seek counsel. If Solomon the wisest man that ever lived needed counselors that says a lot about me having Godly counselors in my life.

5. Two foundations

“Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.” Proverbs 17:24 KJV

Wisdom and understanding seem to be good friends in the Bible and they are often mentioned together. I therefore need these two ingredients if I am going to live a significant life. Be balanced in your perspective of life and the Word of God and you will live long.

6. Discipline

“The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.”

Proverbs 29:15 KJV

To be left to your own ways is dangerous and it will cost you your future. What disciplines do you need in 2016 that will better equip you to succeed? Is it the discipline of reading or writing? Or perhaps managing your time and calendar better? You may need to develop the discipline of managing relationships or staying calm in the midst of crisis and not making rash decisions. Whatever it is I recommend you take this seriously as it will make or break you. Be disciplined in your life and you will fly high.

7. Kindness

“She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.”

Proverbs 31:26 KJV

The final pillar we will look at is that of kindness. I know this seems strange and misplaced but I have seen many people fail because they are just not kind. Perhaps with little more kindness your wife would not have left, your children would have listened to you more and become better people. Its amazing how productive a business becomes with an atmosphere of kindness rather than hostility. Churches grow faster with kindness than with fasting and praying. Learn to speak with greater kindness in 2016 and see more people gravitate to you to help you achieve your vision and add value to your life.

Finally look at these 3 scriptures and let the word dwell in you richly.

Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: (Proverbs 24:3)

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. (Proverbs 4:7)

My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: (Proverbs 5:1)

Feel free to visit www.sp101.co.za and order my books and other resource’s that will help you on your journey. Let me be your success coach in 2016 and we will walk an amazing journey and you will be glad you did.

Success Coaching: Wisdom and Success

Success Coaching: Wisdom and Success: Wisdom for PREVAILING  PART I I have served as a Pastor for many years now and I have come to know that people tend to make the same mi...

Wisdom and Success

Wisdom for PREVAILING PART I

I have served as a Pastor for many years now and I have come to know that people tend to make the same mistakes over and over again without learning from their mistakes. The saying is true “History repeats itself”. Now this can be understood if the history is a few 100 years old. But I am speaking of history from last year of even this year. Are you going to make the same mistakes from the past in your future? I have just gone through my goals list of 2015 and I realised that there are some undone items on my list. I am planning my 2016 calendar and my 200-year strategy and I do not want to have some undone items in 200 years time I want to live a successful life.

You may be saying 200 years is a bit long will you still be around then? Well the answer is yes. I am in Cape Town with my family as I write this blog and on Thursday we did the Peninsula drive and went through the Cape of Good Hope and the Cape Point and other historic sights including the famous Cecil John Rhodes memorial. He died many years ago but he is still alive in his values, beliefs and vision. The may be a lot we don’t like about him and what he stood for but a lot of what he stood for is still standing today. He became larger than life because he carried a vision that has outlived his natural life. I was playing chess with my three awesome kids an hour ago and I was coaching them on how to that chess is a game of strategy, you have to think 20 moves ahead of your enemy, you have to anticipate what they will do and have a counter move and still remain calm in all this.

Well we recently had some nation wide strikes in our Universities as students protested against the statues of John Rhodes that are erected in a number of places in South Africa the students defaced the statue at Rhodes University and did all kinds of things to it. In fact the one we saw at the memorial has no nose as that was cut of, either by hooligans or someone looking at having a keen sense of smell like Rhodes. When the noise got really loud some Rhodes scholarships were withdrawn and some people found themselves in need of new financiers. How can a man who died many years ago decide today that he does not want to pay fees for someone who urinated on his statue? Well that’s the power of vision.

I am getting carried away talking about legacy here when I am supposed to be talking about wisdom. Have a look at the Wikipedia definition of wisdom, which is similar to many other definitions.

Wisdom is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom has been regarded as one of four cardinal virtues; and as a virtue, it is a habit or disposition to perform the action with the highest degree of adequacy under any given circumstance. This implies a possession of knowledge or the seeking of knowledge to apply to the given circumstance. This involves an understanding of people, objects, events, situations, and the willingness as well as the ability to apply perception, judgment, and action in keeping with the understanding of what is the optimal course of action. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions (the "passions") so that the universal principle of reason prevails to determine one's action. In short, wisdom is a disposition to find the truth coupled with an optimum judgment as to what actions should be taken.

That is a useful definition but not complete as it leaves out the God aspect. Wisdom according to the Bible is the fear of God. If I am to walk in wisdom I must reverence God, honoring His Word having a high regard, value and opinion of what He has said to me. So I become wise instantly when I assume a position of His word and making my decisions based on His wisdom. Wisdom is not something in your head but in your heart (spirit) however the world cannot acknowledge that man is a spirit as this will bring them to acknowledge the existence of God and that will demand accountability.

Anyway wisdom is a spiritual commodity that one has access to because they are in Christ and are able to make decisions based on their fear of God and love for His word. Look at the following scriptures and meditate in them so you can prepare for your future well. When you live a wise life you will outlive your current generation and we will still be reading your books hundreds of years after you have gone to heaven.

  

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. (Proverbs 4:7)

My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: (Proverbs 5:1)

Wisdom will help you live a deliberate well-planned life that operates on definiteness and not ambiguity. You must be able to see danger afar of and hide yourself and not be like the fool (one void of wisdom) who just passes on without a clear definite plan and he perishes. You lost money in 2015, your lost opportunities, relationship, investments and possible successes simply because you were not wise. I wrote this article to encourage you that indeed wisdom is the principal thing, the most important thing you need so make every effort to get it as you plan for 2016 and beyond. Live a life that leaves a legacy of value to the next generation and you will live for a long time. Use December to plan and review, have a look at what worked and what didn’t and make adjustments so your future can be clearer than your past.

While we were playing chess earlier the girls got flustered because we (My son and I) took their bishop and I had to stop and say to them “to win you have to stay calm and focused, the moment you are flustered you will not think clearly” Perhaps the failures and looses of 2015 have flustered your, angered you or have lost your focus totally. I want to help you, stay calm go back to the plans that you had before. Look at those plans carefully and reflect on why you did not succeed and draw a fresh plan using wisdom and hindsight. Have some one look at your plans and walk with you on the journey to success in 2016.

In my next article I will look at the 7 pillars of wisdom in your decision making process and making sure you have a fool proof strategy for moving yourself to your desired reality. I encourage you to read my book Success Paradigms 101 which has helped thousands of people draw up “personal success strategies” you can order a copy from any of the leading on line retailers as an eBook, or hard copy. Optionally you can email me from our web site www.sp101.co.za and we will email you a free PDF version of the book. Your success is our passion. Even you can succeed.