There are two things people are always interested in: wisdom and glory. Both elevate our lives. They lift us from surviving mode to thriving mode. Know how to get them? Know where to look?

Proverbs 19:11 shows us a way. It links wisdom and glory to two other things. Here they are:

First, God links wisdom to PATIENCE. He says that patience is the evidence of wisdom. Know patience. Know wisdom. No patience. No wisdom. So if we want to gain wisdom, patience must get ample playing time in our life.

Saint Augustine adds this wrinkle, saying, “Patience is the companion of wisdom.“ That means that if you’re looking for wisdom, look for patience because they hang out together.

The world tells us that wisdom is found simply in personal experience, through learning from your mistakes. But it’s more. This is the better progression:

• A fool never learns from his or her mistakes. 
• A smart man or woman learns from their mistakes. 
• But a truly wise person learns from the mistakes of others.
• Learning from the mistakes of others especially happens when one patiently reads the Bible.
• Patience helps wisdom take root. Only by pausing to process what’s going on in us and around us can we gain proper perspective. So take time to reflect. Make time a friend, not an enemy. If you want wisdom, practice patience. Master the moments. 

Second, God shockingly links glory to OVERLOOKING an OFFENSE. Hurt is hard to overlook, especially if it’s big. Still, God says glory comes when this kind of overlooking happens. He sees to it that honor secretly rolls our way when we do. 

How do we overlook an offense when living in this world brings us regular hurt? How do we turn off the internal scoreboard when our whole life we’ve learned to keep secret score of offense? 

The answer: 

• Forgive as God has forgiven you in Christ (Ephesians 4:32). 
• Extend grace to others as it’s been extended to you (2 Corinthians 6:1).
• Remember, “Not everything that gets your attention deserves your attention.” (Thanks, Tim Kight!)

Reflect: How good is your current game when it comes to patience? Got any lingering offense that needs to go (with family, friends, team, colleagues, referees, enemies)? What patient work or overlooking move can you make today to insure that wisdom and glory keep rolling your way?

A prayer to consider: O LORD, the speed of the world gets me in a hurry and I move too fast for my own good. Slow me down. Get me to the right operating speed. 

Teach me to learn from more than just my experience, my mistakes. Help me to practice patience and discover the wisdom I so desperately need to survive and thrive in life. I want to live wisely. 

And Father, release me from the burden of carrying the offense of others. Teach me to overlook their hurts and simply, freely forgive. I want to experience the freedom and glory that living like this brings. Just like Jesus I long to be. 

Accomplish all this for Your glory and my good, by the power of Your Spirit living in me. In Christ’s name I pray, Amen.