When I was growing up, I always had cavities in my teeth. For whatever reason, I was just so susceptible to tooth decay. I was often in so much pain. If you’ve ever had a tooth ache, you know what I’m talking about. That pain is unbearable!
I’ve heard people say a tooth ache is worse than labour pain. Seeing as I have experienced both, I would have to agree with that statement.
When I fell into labour while pregnant with my son, I was still cheerily eating cereal in between contractions on my way to the hospital. I was balling (at least up until a point. Hehehe)!
When I experienced tooth ache though, I couldn’t even think – couldn’t dare eat or drink water. The pain was excruciating. I could feel it in my brain. And I experienced this multiple times as a child, teenager and even a young adult.
I experienced severally, the pure terror that comes from just seeing the dentist lay out his equipments – tools that look like they’re meant for the carpenter or mechanic’s workshop – and knowing that those are going into your mouth.
I experienced the forceful pressure of the tooth extraction process. I would grip the arms of the patient chair as if holding on to dear life. I experienced the consequent bleeding and swelling of the mouth, the numb feeling and inability to speak well for several hours.
Way too often, I sat in the dentists’ chair for several minutes, mouth wide open as they filled the holes in my teeth with metal-like substance, leaving the affected teeth permanently discoloured.
You would think that with all the experiences I shared above, I would totally hate and be automatic enemies with sweets and chocolates. Not me! Growing up, I would often sneak several wraps of sweets into my room and hide them under my pillow far away from my mother’s wandering eyes.
Late in the night when everyone was asleep, I would delightfully feast on my sweets, crunching and savouring them with pure joy.
On a few occasions when my mum found me eating sweets (in broad daylight), she would shout at me. “Tosin! You want them to keep hitting your teeth with hammer and chisel abi? You won’t learn? You of all people are eating sweets?!”
You see, I knew very well, and by experience, the effect that eating sweets was having on my teeth.
I didn’t have a knowledge problem. Wisdom wasn’t far from me either. I simply had an ailing relationship with it.
As I read from Proverbs 1 today, the Holy Spirit reminded me of my past tooth decay problems and used it as an analogy for the wisdom problem that exists and persists in the lives of many of His beloved children.
Many of us may be experiencing decay in certain areas of our lives, not because we don’t know the truth – but because we have an ailing, estranged relationship with wisdom.
Proverbs 1:20 (NLT) says “Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square.”
Wisdom is not even scarce. She’s right before our eyes. She’s everywhere we go – in our relationships, on social media, on the internet, in our places of worship, on our bookshelves and podcast apps.
She’s always calling. We hear her voice, but are we listening to her?
Do you have a working relationship with wisdom? Is there growth, maturity, transformation and elevation in your life to show that you do?
I’ll tell you something that really upsets me. It’s seeing a believer blatantly refuse to apply wisdom that’s available to them to surmount a challenge they’re facing or to generally elevate the quality of their lives and relationships.
They’re no different from the teenage me who refused to stop eating sweets (and brush at night) even when it was destroying my teeth and keeping me in perpetual pain.
They’re suffering – and it’s mostly because they’ve refused to listen to the voice of wisdom.
I see pride play out all too often – in the way we handle marital affairs, friendships, work relationships and even with our domestic staff! Yes – domestic staff (some people have employed over 20 caregivers in two years – and it’s not always the caregivers that have problems. It’s our own wisdom problem – but this is gist for another day!)
Verse 24-31 outlines how Lady Wisdom laughs at the calamity, decay and disaster that befall those who refuse to listen to her.
You can save yourself from time wasters and step into the best relationship of your life that will lead to a blissful marriage.
You can have the most beautiful love relationship with your husband.
You can begin to see, enjoy and maximize the value in your friendships without letting jealousy and envy get in the way.
You can be more financially independent.
You can step into the kind of life you’ve always envisioned.
But you will have to listen to the voice of wisdom calling out to be heard and applied in each area of your life.
We’re only just scratching the surface!
What exactly is wisdom? What does it look like for each area of our lives?
I’m certain that we’ll figure it out as we travel further in the book of Proverbs.
Question of the Day: What stuck out to you personally as you studied Proverbs 1? Please share with us!