Proverbs 2:11-15

verse 11: “Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you,”

May I present the special agents who work for Wisdom, Agent Discretion and Agent Understanding. They each serve a specific purpose here.

Agent Discretion will serve as your bodyguard. Discretion will go with you, be with you at all times. Discretion will guard you from bad situations, advise you before you make a decision that could be treacherous. Discretion cannot stop you if you decide to go against the agent’s advice, but rest assured, Discretion has seen these situations before, and usually the advice this agent gives is sound. If you decide to act without consulting Agent Discretion’s cautious counsel, the outcome (more than likely) will not be good.

Agent Understanding will be your shadow. This agent will be tailing you as you go through your normal routines in the world, and will be watching over you. This agent is an experienced guardian as well, seeing how situations develop and sizing up the likely outcomes, dependent on your participation or non-participation in them. Using this valuable knowledge, this agent is also a good advance scout to keep you from straying into a bad situation.

Now, forgive my humorous personification of these two aspects of wisdom. When I first read the verse, I thought of the old phrase “Discretion is the better part of valor”, a phrase attributed to Falstaff in William Shakespeare’s King Henry the Fourth. (see http://dictionary.reference.com/cite.html?qh=Discretion+is+the+better+part+of+valor&ia=ahdi). “Caution is preferable to rash bravery.” (see http://dictionary.reference.com/cite.html?qh=Discretion+is+the+better+part+of+valor&ia=ahcl). If we listen to God, and seek His wisdom in matters of life here on earth, there are a lot of evil situations that we won’t wind up in…especially since we won’t be alone. (Jesus told His followers I will always be with you…for the Christian, that’s assurance of eternal counsel!)

Have a blessed day!