Proverbs 8:5
"O naive ones, understand prudence; and, O fools understand wisdom"
prudence
The idea of prudence is very important. Many people do not have it or the desire to get it.
The English dictionary lists these ideas for the word:
The ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason
Sagacity or shrewdness in the management of affairs
Skill and good judgment in the use of resources
The simple need to understand how to plan well and execute the various phases of a plan. It won't go as simple as we think it should; it will be complex. If you are one of those simple people who does not understand that the shortest distance between two people is not always a straight line, then you need to grasp the words of the proverbs. Don't keep being so simple. If you keep saying, "Why can't people just...?" or "Why can't this thing or that thing happen...?" Realize that things are more complex than just one simple reaction triggering another simple reaction. There are multiple people and multiple reactions plus events outside of people's control.
These are the definitions for the word provident that prudent comes from:
Making provision for the future: prudent
Archaic: marked by foresight: prudent
To summarize these two ideas: To be prudent is to be ruled by reason rather than emotion and to see the present decisions and actions in light of their future consequences. These sentences suggest prudence: "I shouldn’t do this, because it will probably lead to this or that." "I should do this, because it will put me in a position to do this in the future."
I want so much for my girls to be able to tie their present decisions and actions to the future that they will live in. It is absolutely true that we are creating the future that we live in. God has given us great latitude within the boundaries of His will to create our own lives. To be simplistic, naive, and impulsive and refuse to see how our actions affect the future is like taking our future in our hands and destroying it.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz