The aim of the book of Proverbs is to help you improve your life in a natural and easy manner by following the simple yet powerful programme of personal development drawn up for the benefit of his subjects by King Solomon of ancient Israel, the wisest person who ever lived.

All that is now known about the principles personal development and success was already known and taught by Solomon almost three thousand years ago, and recorded by him for posterity in the sacred collection of Proverbs that now form the focus of this workshop in wise living. The principles of wisdom do not change or vary with the culture of the reader. They are eternal.

Solomon’s Dream

According to the accounts found in the Bible, God appeared to the newly-crowned Solomon in a dream and offered him his heart’s desire. Unlike the fabled King Midas, however, who, according to legend, foolishly asked that all he touched be turned to gold, the young Solomon asked not for fame or fortune but for wisdom to rule his people well. Pleased with this request, God replied: "I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be" (1 Kings 3:12).

From that moment Solomon began an inspired study of the principles of wisdom, collecting the writings of sages from all over the world, distilling their essence into his book of Proverbs.

Goads and Nails

The Hebrew word translated "proverb" more nearly means parable or parallel – a cleverly constructed metaphorical statement in which both the young and the old, the simple and those already wise, can discover useful principles to apply to their lives.

The law of cause and effect shapes our lives, and there are things to do, and things to avoid doing that make a difference, acts of omission and commission. Accordingly, Solomon seems to suggest that there are two kinds of proverbs -- Goads, which are designed to prick our thick skin of complacency and so stir us into positive, productive action, and Nails, solid and reliable values or truths that help us avoid making ruinous mistakes.

Life-changing Wisdom

In a perverse, backward sort of way, we are all already wise. Unfortunately, our human weaknesses negate and frustrate that wisdom. An interesting parallel would be that of good seed being sown in a garden. Although the seeds contains all the potential needed to produce excellence plants, the poor gardener can frustrate that potential in many ways --by not tilling the soil properly, by depriving the seedlings of water and nutrients, and by allowing weeds and pests to attack the plot and choke off the growth. Likewise in our lives, the success that should be readily available is, all too often, self-sabotaged by negative emotions, such as greed, lust, selfishness, anger, malice, envy, anxiety, fear, impatience, carelessness, pride, laziness, inertia, and ignorance that lock millions of into mediocrity, poverty and ill-health.

Through inspired writings of Solomon, however, the foolish can actually become wise -- more effective, capable and productive than they ever thought possible. Slowly but surely, day by day, moment by moment, thought by thought, decision by decision, action by action, they can turn their lives around and grow in a natural and easy manner, and begin to develop the potential for success they already possess.

Real Success

Contemporary inspirational writer Stephen Covey points out that there is no quick and easy way to achieve personal effectiveness and the quality of life we all seek. Success and satisfaction, he says, do not come from the mechanical application of gimmicky techniques for influencing and manipulating other people, but by an "inside-out" process that begins by changing ourselves -- by identifying and breaking away from the old and unsuccessful habits and attitudes, as well as erroneous assumptions and beliefs that have misled us for so long in our exploration of life, like a faulty map or compass. Solomon would concur.

Covey also stresses that worthwhile achievement requires a deepening understanding of how the world really works, and the development of the Character Ethic – the realization that there are fundamental laws that govern life and human relationships, principles such as fairness, integrity, human dignity, service, diligence, excellence, patience, and encouragement. Those same fundamentals are in fact the focus of the Solomon’s divinely inspired writings.

The Path to Eternal Success

As we study Solomon’s words, it will becomes increasingly apparent that way of life he was inspired to describe is the very same God-centred way that Jesus and his apostles taught and demonstrated a thousand years later.

This close parallel is shown by the frequent New Testament references to Solomon’s inspired words -- there are in fact at least 14 direct quotations and some 20 plus allusions. The epistle of James, the brother of Jesus, in particular puts a special stress on wisdom.

Perhaps Jesus himself was also alluding to this parallel when he said to the Jews: "The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here" (Luke 11:31).

A Handbook of Godly Living

A thousand years before Christ, the Jewish rabbis accepted that Solomon in his writings had been inspired by God to interpret the Law and translate it into detailed prescriptions for daily living. Similarly, Jesus said that he had not come to do away with the Law of God but to fulfill it, to explain, amplify and teach its true intent -- which is that of love for God and love for neighbor. No wonder then that the principles Jesus taught are also stressed in the book of Proverbs. Although, as the apostle Paul says, all scripture is inspired and valuable for instruction in righteousness, Proverbs is in fact unique in the whole Bible, as a handbook solely devoted to detailed instruction in daily Godly living.

In Proverbs we find no nationalism, no rituals, no sectarian divides, but simply the Way of wisdom, faith, prayer and love that Jesus later taught his disciples to follow -- the way of life that constitutes the worship of God in spirit and truth.