"Wisdom Is With The Modest Ones"

King Solomon continues: "Has presumptuousness come? Then dishonor will come; but wisdom is with the modest ones." (Proverbs 11:12) Presumptuousness-whether it manifests itself as pride, disobedience, or envy-brings disgrace. On the other hand, humble recognitions of our limitations is the course of wisdom. How well Scriptural examples illustrates the truth of this proverb!

An envious Levite, Korah, led a rebellious mob against the authority of Jehovah's appointed servants Moses and Aaron. What was the outcome of that presumptuous act? 'The earth opened its mouth and proceeded to swallow up' some of the rebels, while others, including Korah, were consumed by fire. (Numbers 16:1-3, 16-35; 26:10; Deuteronomy 11:6) What dishonor! Consider also Uzzah, who presumptuously reached out and grabbed hold of the ark of the covenant to prevent it from falling. He was struck dead on the spot. ( 2 Samuel 6:3-8) How vital that we shun presumptuousness!

A humble and modest person does not suffer dishonor even when he errs. Job, though exemplary in many ways, was imperfect. His trials revealed a serious flaw in some of his thinking. In defending himself against his accusers, Job became somewhat unbalanced He even implied that he was more righteous than God. (Job 35:2, 3) How did Jehovah correct Job's thinking?

Pointing to the earth, the sea, the starry heavens, some of the animals and other marvels of creation, Jehovah gave Job a lesson in man's littleness compared with God's greatness. (Job, chapters 38-41) Nowhere in his speech did Jehovah state why Job was suffering. He did not need to. Job was modest. He humbly recognized the great difference between him and God, between his own imperfection and weaknesses and Jehovah's righteousness and power. "I make a retraction," he said, "and I do repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:6) Job's integrity led him to accept the reproof readily. What about us? Led by integrity, would we readily accept reproof or correction when needed?

Moses too was modest and humble. When he was wearing himself out in caring for the problems of others, his father-in-law, Jethro, offered a practical solution: Share some responsibility with other qualified men. Recognizing his own limitations, Moses wisely accepted the suggestion. (Exodus 18:17-26; Numbers 12:3) A modest man is not reluctant to delegate authority to others, nor does he fear that he somehow loses control by sharing appropriate responsibilities with other qualified men. (Numbers 11:16, 17, 26-29) Rather, he is eager to help them to progress spiritually. (1Timothy 4:15) Should that not be true of us also?

Next time: 'The Way Of The Blameless One Is Straight'

Watchtower, 2002