Wisdom And Grace

“She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.” (Pr 4:9 AV)

The ‘she’ here is wisdom.  So, the question would be, what does wisdom have to do with grace?  If wisdom is knowing what to do; when to do it; how to do it; and the discipline to do it; what does that have to do with grace?  If an ornament of grace means the disposition towards others as a gracious person, then why would wisdom have anything to do with it?  When we think of wisdom, generally we are thinking of the pragmatic.  Planting one’s crop and tending to the fields to gain a greater yield.  Saving for retirement.  Fixing the broken faucet.  These things take know-how.  They take wisdom.  There are skills of life like raising children or loving one’s spouse.  These skills are seen as wisdom.  But why would wisdom produce an ornament of grace?  Because wisdom applied to others results in a spirit of grace.  In others words, we may have all the tangibles figured out.  That only makes us wise in the tangibles.  If we fail in matters of the human heart, then we are not wise.  Wisdom results in a gracious spirit.  If one does not possess a spirit of grace, then we cannot say we are wise.

I had a childhood friend whose father was a rather wealthy business owner.  His grandfather had come from a European country and started this business.  When his grandfather passed away, he left his business to three brothers.  One of those brothers was my friend’s father.  I spent a good deal of time with this family.  My friend’s father and uncles alike.  These three brothers were worth millions.  Maybe even hundreds of millions.  Each one was a success in his own right.  Never divorced, faithful churchgoers, and very fair businessmen, these brothers were pillars of the community.  Each had a very lovely home.  Not too extravagant.  Well within what one might consider modest.  However, there was a difference between my friend’s father and his two brothers.  I didn’t care for my friend's uncles.  They didn’t know how to interact with people from whom they could not profit.  My friend’s father was different.  He treated me like I was important.  In my early teens, my friend's father allowed me to hang with my friend and help him with his responsibilities around the business.  The two uncles constantly felt annoyed with my presence.  All three would be considered very wise men.  However, only one had an ornament of grace.

When we think of wisdom and grace, we usually think they are mutually exclusive.  In fact, sometimes we think the two cannot go together.  If one is wise, he may make some enemies.  Prudent financial dealings may cause another to lose something.  A wise property purchase may leave another without a dream home.  Etc.  We assume showing grace costs something and therefore, might even be considered unwise.  Giving someone the shirt off our backs will leave us susceptible to catching a cold.  Therefore, showing grace may not seem to be the wise thing.  Solomon says just the opposite.  Wisdom cries out for men to learn it and apply it.  In doing so, one also attains a gracious spirit.  The two are not mutually exclusive.  They are mutually dependent.