God of Wisdom

In the Scriptures, wisdom is often portrayed as a woman. This is especially true in Proverbs, where metaphorical images abound. 

One of the images that I love the most out of Proverbs comes from chapter 7, where we are told that God made wisdom our sister. 

Now, I don't have any sisters. But I happen to be one. And let me tell you.... 

As a sister, growing up, I pestered my brothers quite a bit. I wanted to be involved in the things they were doing. I wanted to learn to do the same things. I wanted to tag along on every adventure, learn the ins and outs of whatever was going on. If my brothers were building legos, I was building legos. If they were swimming, then I want to go swimming, too. I know it drove them crazy, but I wanted to be there. 

So does wisdom. Wisdom wants to tag along with us wherever we're going. It wants to be part of what we're doing. It inserts itself into our lives, begs its way in, becomes our constant companion, whether we're annoyed by it or not. At least, Godly wisdom is supposed to be like this - ever-present. Persistent. Insistent. 

As a sister, I have felt like it is my duty, at many times, to take care of my brothers. I have a more sensitive, seasoned, rational side than they sometimes do (being males). I'm more prone to think things through, to see the bigger picture, to want better things for them. They may want to run stark naked through the mud because something like that sounds fun to boys (I guess - also, not a true story), but I'm over here thinking about contaminants, pests, and potential legal consequences for indecent exposure. There's something tempering about my presence that says, "Oh, you boys," but in the same breath has a suggestion for a better way to approach things or a consideration for something they might have missed. I'm a girl, taking care of boys. 

So is wisdom. Wisdom is that protector, that rational mind that comes in and says, maybe we should think about this a little bit harder. Wisdom wants to take care of us, even when we don't want to take care of ourselves. At the moment when we are most prone to be reckless, there's our sister again, thinking things through more than we have, caring about us more than we sometimes care about ourselves. 

As a sister, I benefit from the protection of my brothers. They don't always like me. I know that. We aren't always best friends. But at the end of the day, they've got my back. If I need something, I can ask. At the end of the day, they do actually care about me, whether they want to admit it or not. 

So it is with wisdom. We really do care, whether we want to admit it or not. We want to be guided and pestered and cared for by this understanding of better things, of Godly ways, of right and wrong in the world. We want wisdom to corral us, to make us better, to get us to think things through in a better way. We would do anything for wisdom, for what is right, if push really comes to shove. Truthfully, we love wisdom way more than we pretend to. 

Wisdom. A sister. Our sister. She loves us. 

And we love her.