The world’s economy used to be based on agriculture. During the Industrial Revolution, the economy shifted to an economy of production. The age of the machine took over as the basis of the economy. Then we moved into what is called the “information age.” Since the advent of the computer, knowledge has increased exponentially, and there is now at your fingertips more information about everything in the world than ever. But many argue that the information age is over. We are now in the age of “Artificial Intelligence.” I suggest we’re still in the information age, but artificial intelligence currently manages that information. I remember 1969. That was a long time ago, and a duet from Lincoln, Nebraska, had a number one hit on pop charts, “In The Year 2525.” This is how it went: “In the year 2525 If man is still alive. If woman can survive They may find. In the year 3535 Ain’t gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies. Everything you think, do and say Is in the pill you took today. In the year 4545 Ain’t gonna need your teeth; won’t need your eyes. You won’t find a thing to chew. Nobody’s gonna look at you. In the year 5555 Your arms are hanging limp at your sides. Your legs got nothing to do Some machine’s doing that for you In the year 6565 Ain’t gonna need no husband; won’t need no wife You’ll pick your son, pick your daughter, too From the bottom of a long glass tube In the year 7510 If God’s a-comin’, he oughta make it by then. Maybe he’ll look around Himself and say Guess it’s time for the Judgment day.” My point is that the advances in every area of human life lead to a frightening future. I’m not sure Zaiger and Evans, the singers, are right with their doomsday prophecy, but things seem to be tending that way. If everything we think do and say comes from Google today and tomorrow from some kind of artificial intelligence program or robot. Information is increasing!
Although there is more information and more knowledge available at any time in history, there seems to be an increasing lack of wisdom. “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?” asked the late British poet, T.S. Eliot. No time in the history of man is the need for wisdom more acute than it is today. Warren Wiersbe said it well, “What’s needed today is wisdom. The Book of Proverbs is about godly wisdom, how to get it, and how to use it. It’s about priorities and principles, not get-rich-quick schemes or success formulas. It tells you not how to make a living, but how to be skillful in the lost art of making a life.”
The book of Proverbs was written over 3000 years ago and still addresses some of life’s most critical issues with real wisdom. When I read Proverbs, it makes me think about how I live. Socrates was famous for saying, “The unexamined life isn’t worth living.” Solomon promises his readers wisdom, not information. The first five verses explain why Solomon wrote the book. It says, “To know wisdom and instruction; to understand words of insight; to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— Let the wise hear and increase in learning.” But the most potent phrase is in Verse 7. It summarizes the key lesson of the whole book. It says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7