Have you ever heard of “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom?”
It comes from Proverbs 9:1 which says, “Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars.”
Now if there was a tidy set of seven pillars of wisdom, it would have been nice if the author would have spelled it out right there. But he didn’t. That leaves it open to speculation, and many people have done so. And now you can add me to the list.
That phrase “seven pillars” really struck my fancy, so what I did was a complete read through of the book of Proverbs to see if I could pick up on a set of seven branches of wisdom.
It wasn’t exactly obvious, because the Proverbs cover a lot of ground. But here is what I think are the seven main “pillars of wisdom.”
#1 Righteousness
From beginning to end the Proverbs talk about the blessings of the righteous. This includes integrity and purity, living upright and blameless. If we put these in order of the number of times mentioned, righteousness has to top the list. Some form of the word appears almost 80 times in the book of Proverbs. The opposite of righteousness is wickedness, which Proverbs repeatedly warns against.
Righteousness is not just good for individuals, but look what it says in Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalts a nation…”
#2 Restraint
Restraint is self control. It covers everything from holding your tongue to holding your temper. A life of wisdom is a life of restraint. The opposite of restraint is when we do or say whatever we feel like at the moment.
Proverbs 29:11 says, “…a wise man keeps himself under control.”
#3 Action
Sometimes when we think of wisdom we think of an old man sitting up on a hill doing nothing but dispensing wisdom. Or we might think of wisdom as a bunch of things we don’t do. Not so. A man of wisdom is a man of action, a hard worker, a go-getter. The opposite of this is being lazy, like a sluggard.
Proverbs 10:4 says, “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.”
#4 Truth
A wise man is always true and never deceptive, whether in a court of law, or in business dealings, or simply when talking with friends. He is honest and fair and just.
Proverbs 12:22 says, “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.”
#5 Instruction
A wise man is always ready to receive instruction. It may come in the form of teaching, or it may be a word of advice. It might even be a rebuke or harsh discipline. It comes in different ways at different times, but whenever it comes, a wise man is always teachable, always moldable, always open to instruction.
Proverbs 19:20 says, “Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.”
#6 Generosity
A wise man is a giving man. He never hordes for himself, but is always kind and good and ready to give away what he has been given. He holds everything with an open hand.
Proverbs 11:25 says, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”
#7 Humility
The Proverbs repeatedly warn of the dangers of pride. The opposite of pride is humility. A wise man is also a humble man. The more he knows, the more he realizes he doesn’t know.
Proverbs 11:2 says, “…with humility comes wisdom.”
Now you might say, “What about the fear of the Lord? Why isn’t that one of your pillars?”
Well, I based my decisions on what was most mentioned in the book of Proverbs, and the fear of the Lord wasn’t mentioned as often as these seven. However, it says in both Proverbs 1:7 and Proverbs 9:10 that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” So I will say this. The seven pillars are built on this foundation: The fear of the Lord.
Now here are some honorable mentions that are obviously important, but don’t show up as often in the Proverbs:
--love
--diligence
--faithfulness
--peacemaking
--whom you keep company with (i.e. not fools)
