Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: “ ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

–Parallel verses:
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭8‬
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding— indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.

Wisdom is an interesting attribute to try and attain. Many try to use their own reason and logic to attain it and fail. Others try to just follow the “prevailing wisdom of the day”, and they wither away into irrelevance. We must start the pursuit of wisdom out by acknowledging who it is that created us in the first place — God. God is the source of life and the source of wisdom. So, unless our wisdom is rooted in the wisdom of God, it is foolishness.

“Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” ‭‭(I Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭26‬-‭30‬)‬‬

This is the point Jesus was making to the Pharisees. Human wisdom changes course without even always becoming aware the course has changed. Their similar treatment of Jesus and John the Baptist, who were on opposite ends of the food consumption and societal interaction spectrum, is proof of this. But the wisdom of God comes through pursuit of relationship with Jesus Christ and surrender to His Lordship.

I loved the last statement about wisdom — it is proved right in her children. The wise person raises, in general, wise people. People who follow those with wisdom, act in a manor that is wise.

So practically, how do we become wise? The passage in Psalms tells us this very thing. 1) We must store up in our hearts the word of God. 2) We must listen to hear wisdom from God. 3) We must turn our hearts to understanding. 4) We must call out to God and others who have wisdom from him for insight.

When we seek after wisdom as a treasure, with our whole heart, all of our energy, and our mind’s focus; we will find it! And when we find the wisdom of God, great benefit is the result: He provides success for the upright, protection for the blameless, secure pathways for the just, and a protective detail for his faithful ones.

Thank you, Lord, for your promises to those who seek after wisdom with all their hearts. This is my desire. Teach me to dig deeper into the riches of the treasure of your wisdom, O God!