Reflection: As a man and a father, I know I can default to bad tendencies. I can be too direct; I can get frustrated too easily and sometimes even shut down or disengage when things get difficult. So, this advice on wisdom is what I need to hear. And it’s not something I need to fight for. It’s something to understand, to cherish. It’s something to embrace and see as beautiful.
It’s always important for us as Christians to remember that while God is spoken of as a Father, and while his Son came to earth as a human male, when we read in Scripture of our creation ‘in the image of God’, it is as male and female we are created (see Genesis 1:27). Both men and women reflect God’s image, and it makes sense to me that Lady Wisdom is a key element of Proverbs*.
I’m blessed to have some wise women in my life (and I was blessed to be mentored by women in my youth). Even for the men who aren’t married, women can provide valuable wise insight. I know it’s helped me to be a better man.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for creating us in your image, male and female. Thank you for the ways men and women equip and encourage one another. Thank you for the image of creating woman out of the rib of a man so they could walk side by side. We pray that we will not be tempted by the curse of Genesis, and that we will work together as men and women for our families and for God’s kingdom.
*Notes: With this passage, God spoke to me about identifying wisdom in the feminine. The Bible does this in many places. Often when I dig deep into Scripture or when I preach from Scripture, I use the amazing resources from the Bible Project. You can check on their overview of the Book of Proverbs here: https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/proverbs/ which gives great insight into the whole Book of Proverbs. The Bible Project guys unpack this a bit here as well: https://bibleproject.com/articles/proverbs-human-wisdom-becomes-divine/