Proverbs 22:1 – “A good name is to be chosen over great wealth.  Favor is better than silver or gold.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, life embodied in all our choices filled my mind.

I am not talking about life, but our choice of life!   It is difficult for mortals not to be flesh-driven.  The world we are most conscious of is the natural (flesh) world.  The demands and desires of that world, coupled with the reality that we live in a body that can only survive in that environment, complicate life for most.  We have natural (flesh-driven) cravings, desires, ambitions, and needs.   They demand our focus.   Every day, we face choices that define and determine that day and all our days.

Proverbs 22:1 speaks to that.  “A good name is to be chosen over great wealth.  Favor is better than silver or gold.”

Proverbs 24:3-4 – “By wisdom a house is built…”

If that were talking about bricks-and-mortar knowledge, not wisdom would be the focus.  Building the house of a life requires wisdom.  Building a physical structure, knowledge, and ability.

“And by discernment, it is firmly established.”   This is further proof that this is about a life of discernment.   Discernment is a guide, a spiritual GPS.   Discernment is like the reticular activating system in humans.   It filters out the unimportant and focuses on the vital.  We hear our children’s cries in a crowd, but don’t hear the train that goes by our house at night.

“And by knowledge, the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”   The value of knowledge lies in its ability to reveal truth and provide information for practical application.   If we do not know, we will not possess.   If we do not know, we will not expect.  If we know and apply that knowledge, our house (life) becomes established in Christ, and we break the hold of the flesh.

Information without application results in stagnation.  Applying knowledge produces fruit, opens doors, equips, and enables.  Life choices determine whether a life is chosen or not.

Lord, help us be filled with wisdom, led by discernment, and enabled by knowledge.