Proverb for the Day 4:8 — Cherish & Embrace Her!

Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.
This verse is part of a message King David once gave to his son, Solomon (:4-9). Here, Solomon is passing it along to his sons (:1). Father tells his boy how to treat Lady Wisdom – the personification of God’s wisdom – and what to expect (:6-7).

We define Wisdom as “seeing life from God’s point of view” and the two things dad tells son to do in this verse are “cherish her” and “embrace her.” When we understand who Wisdom is and what she can do for us, we’ll all be eager to do both!

To “cherish her” is literally “build her up” or “exalt her” – we’re supposed to raise Wisdom up and treat her really special.

To “embrace her” is “hold her close” – we should keep her close and hold her tight.

While raising her up and holding her close feel like contrasting concepts, taken together these two actions create a situation that sets us up for success in life.

Because, when we treat Wisdom well, she’ll “exalt” us – “raise us up to the heights.” We embrace her and she’ll “honor” us – literally “weigh us down with honors.”

Sounds to me like a pretty good way to live. It’ll work if we work it…one day at a time!