August 3, 2026

Business by the Book

Proverbs 2:6  For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

The book of Proverbs speaks often of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. These three are to business like onions, celery, and bell pepper are to Cajun cooking. They are in everything. The very purpose of the book of Proverbs is to give the reader wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

Leaders not only obtain these, they retain them. In fact, just four verses later God’s Word says: When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; (Proverbs 2:10-12) 

Benjamin Franklin was a man who exhibited these three qualities. He was once seeking candidates to be his assistant in his laboratory. Upon interviewing the applicants he gave them all the same test. In his lab there was an old globe of the earth that was bent and twisted. He asked the potential assistants to compute the cubic volume of the inside of the globe. Each one tried all the mathematical computations they could think of yet none could come up with the right answer. They measured, triangulated, weighed, and even considered the thickness of the material the globe was made of, yet none could answer. In fact one candidate told Mr. Franklin that it was an impossible task.

Mr. Franklin then picked up the globe, drilled a small hole in it, filled it with water, poured the water out into a beaker, and measured the amount to obtain the globe’s cubic volume. There was a simple answer to a very complicated question. He used wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Which all, by the way, come from the Lord God.

Wisdom and knowledge are indispensable.

Dr. William Howe