Proverbs 10:1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother
As you look around the world and see gifted, skilled, and able people, it is easy to think of their gifts, skills, or wisdom as amazing. They may well be, but oftentimes it is a mystery to us how they operate. For instance, we think about the wisdom of Solomon. We think generically, “He was so smart. I could never be that smart.” Obviously, we are talking about wisdom, how to use what you know, and not about being smart, what it is you actually know. We may wish we had the wisdom of Solomon, to have the savvy he had to know what to do with the information he had.
Wisdom can be subdivided into something we call discernment, and you can get a handle on that. You can understand what is happening and what it is that God actually gave this man. Proverbs 10:1 says, “The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.” King Solomon was wise, but specifically he was discerning. When Solomon asked God for wisdom, he said, “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” He talks about understanding, discernment to distinguish good from bad, and the ability to judge.
Discernment is the wisdom to distinguish choices in your mind. Discern means “to divide or cut.” It means to see the difference in things that might superficially look exactly the same. Sometimes it is hard to see similarities in things. It was observed many years ago that humor is often a matter of comparison. For example, we may say a certain man eats like a horse. It doesn’t mean he gets down on all fours and chomps grass. It means he eats heartily like we think a horse might. So, it is a bit comical because you are drawing a general comparison.
Discernment, on the other hand, is not the ability to see similarities; it is to see where the differences are. So, as soon as Solomon asked God for discernment, wisdom, and understanding, God gave it to him, and the next story is of two ladies who claimed the same baby. He had to discern who was right and who was wrong and then he had to discern what to do once he had decided that. That is dividing, a cutting of one thing from another. That is the wisdom Solomon had as a king. That is a kind of wisdom we need today, wisdom to distinguish choices in your mind.
Consider several things. First, discernment is the ability to distinguish a choice from a fate. Certain things are inevitable. Proverbs 30:33 says, “Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.” There are certain decisions that have almost inevitable ends. That is different from a fate where you just have no choice whatever. Discernment distinguishes a choice from a fate.
Back in Proverbs 10 we see that almost every verse in this chapter is two sides of a truth. They are connected in most cases by the conjunction but, the conjunction of contrast. For instance, verse 2 says, “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.” There are thirty-two verses, almost every one of which draws a contrast. So, the very fact that you have a choice means that you have agency, will, and responsibility. So, discernment distinguishes a choice from a fate for which you have no responsibility.
Second, discernment distinguishes a cause from an effect. Sometimes we think that something is a cause when it is an effect, and sometimes we think that something is the effect when it is actually the cause. Verse 12 is an example. It says, “Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.” We often think that strife produces hatred. That certainly can be true, but the point of this verse is that when there is hatred, it brings strife. If I dislike or distrust someone, nothing they do will please me because the problem is not something they are doing, it is them. It is not the strife that is brought to bear; it is the hatred in my heart. So, hatred brings forth strife. It is the source of strife. Why are there wars among us? It is because of hatred in the heart. So, discernment distinguishes a cause from an effect.
Third, discernment distinguishes a good end from a bad end, a good choice from a bad choice. That is something for which we need God. James 1 tells us that any kind of wisdom, certainly discernment, is a gift from God that is available to anyone who will ask for it.
Fourth, discernment distinguishes wisdom from foolishness. Our first verse contrasts a wise son and a glad father and a foolish son and a mother who is saddened. It takes discernment to know when a choice is wise or foolish.
Finally, discernment distinguishes what is from what will be. Verse 4 says, “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.” So, we are talking about something that will happen in the future that we don’t necessarily see right now. We need God-given discernment to see where the courses we are taking will end up.
I will never be as wise as Solomon when it comes to leadership and I’ll certainly never be a king, but all of us can ask for the kind of wisdom that Solomon had, the wisdom to discern, distinguish choices in your mind, and to live a life that honors God and is helpful to others.