Prudence - Part 2, What
Continuing on with our theme from last time, we have four more 'what' items concerning prudence to explore.
(7) The seventh what is anger suppression. This is almost a secondary collorary to the Reserve mentioned in the last tome. In this case however, a prudent person keeps his anger to himself. Sometimes what has just been said is someone trying to "egg you on" into a fight or getting into a disagreement. Why give into such a thing? You only bring yourself down to their level when you do that. Our example in this is Jesus, even though he had ample reason to be angry did not do so when the Pharasees were trying to test Him. It is also look upon in the book of Proverbs as a dishonor to get angry. Their is such a thing as righteous anger, but that always has to do with becoming angry when someone makes an affront to the almighty. We who are believers are naturally jealous that others would retain their fear of Him like we do.
Proverbs 12:16 (NASB)
[16] A fool's anger is known at once,
But a prudent man conceals dishonor.
Proverbs 19:11 (NASB)
[11] A man's discretion makes him slow to anger,
And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.
(8) The eighth what is self-preservation. Discretion and Prudence go hand in hand. As we mentioned before, one of the sub definitions of prudence is having discretion, being careful of what we say and whom we say it to. Notice that this is really a good idea in some situations that we may not realize are life threatening to us.
Proverbs 2:11 (NASB)
[11] Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
(9) The ninth what is self-understanding. One of the things that prudent people do is try to understand themselves. We try to see ourselves the way that God sees us, as defined in His Word. This gives us a better handle on the things that need fixin'. The "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" is part of that process. To understand the way that we are going gives us the chance to compare our walk with the walk that is described in the Word of God. That way we can call upon Him to help us in changing those things that are displeasing to Him.
Proverbs 14:8 (NASB)
[8] The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,
But the foolishness of fools is deceit.
(10) The tenth and last what is knowledge. The prudent have knowledge, no question about it. The prudent man can be found absorbed in the Word of God, constantly trying to better himself in understanding how God sees things and how He would have us to live. In that manner, we have "hid your Word in my heart that I may not sin against thee." Knowledge gives the prudent man the ability to be able to reason upon what the next action might be. Being crowned with knowledge indicates that this is the hallmark of a prudent man. A prudent man is always a man who has a great grasp of what is going on and views things from God's perspective because the prudent are always seeking out answers to new questions from the only source that really knows, God's Word.
Proverbs 14:18 (NASB)
[18] The *naive inherit foolishness,
But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.
(7) The seventh what is anger suppression. This is almost a secondary collorary to the Reserve mentioned in the last tome. In this case however, a prudent person keeps his anger to himself. Sometimes what has just been said is someone trying to "egg you on" into a fight or getting into a disagreement. Why give into such a thing? You only bring yourself down to their level when you do that. Our example in this is Jesus, even though he had ample reason to be angry did not do so when the Pharasees were trying to test Him. It is also look upon in the book of Proverbs as a dishonor to get angry. Their is such a thing as righteous anger, but that always has to do with becoming angry when someone makes an affront to the almighty. We who are believers are naturally jealous that others would retain their fear of Him like we do.
Proverbs 12:16 (NASB)
[16] A fool's anger is known at once,
But a prudent man conceals dishonor.
Proverbs 19:11 (NASB)
[11] A man's discretion makes him slow to anger,
And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.
(8) The eighth what is self-preservation. Discretion and Prudence go hand in hand. As we mentioned before, one of the sub definitions of prudence is having discretion, being careful of what we say and whom we say it to. Notice that this is really a good idea in some situations that we may not realize are life threatening to us.
Proverbs 2:11 (NASB)
[11] Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
(9) The ninth what is self-understanding. One of the things that prudent people do is try to understand themselves. We try to see ourselves the way that God sees us, as defined in His Word. This gives us a better handle on the things that need fixin'. The "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" is part of that process. To understand the way that we are going gives us the chance to compare our walk with the walk that is described in the Word of God. That way we can call upon Him to help us in changing those things that are displeasing to Him.
Proverbs 14:8 (NASB)
[8] The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,
But the foolishness of fools is deceit.
(10) The tenth and last what is knowledge. The prudent have knowledge, no question about it. The prudent man can be found absorbed in the Word of God, constantly trying to better himself in understanding how God sees things and how He would have us to live. In that manner, we have "hid your Word in my heart that I may not sin against thee." Knowledge gives the prudent man the ability to be able to reason upon what the next action might be. Being crowned with knowledge indicates that this is the hallmark of a prudent man. A prudent man is always a man who has a great grasp of what is going on and views things from God's perspective because the prudent are always seeking out answers to new questions from the only source that really knows, God's Word.
Proverbs 14:18 (NASB)
[18] The *naive inherit foolishness,
But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.