What is Prudence?

Last summer a friend encouraged me to read through the Book of Proverbs and take note of characteristics that were repeatedly praised, and to study these characteristics. So after reading through Proverbs, I decided on a characteristic that I really didn't know anything about: Prudence. If you had asked me six months ago what prudence was, I would have guessed that it was synonymous with wisdom. But it's not!

In Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, Prudence is defined as, “Wisdom applied to practice.” And "prudent" is defined as "cautious; circumspect; wise; careful; foreseeing; frugal; intelligent." One verse used by Webster to define this word is Proverbs 19:14- “A prudent wife is from the Lord.”

This intrigued me, since one of the things I desire most is to someday be a wife and mother! So I began to read through Proverbs once more to find out what the Scriptures had to say about prudence. Below are some of the verses in Proverbs that speak of prudence:

“The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”
Proverbs 18:15


“Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.”
Proverbs 17:28

“When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is prudent.”
Proverbs 10:19

“A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man conceals dishonor.”
Proverbs12:16

“Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool displays folly.”
Proverbs 13:16

“A prudent sees evil and hides himself, but the naïve proceed and pay the penalty.”
Proverbs 27:12

What aspects of our person is associated with prudence?
1. The Mind
2. The Lips
3. The Eyes

Did you realize that control of these three aspects of our persons are the ones most contested for by our Lord Jesus Christ and his arch nemesis, Satan? The Scriptures continually address the great pains we should take to control these “organs” for Christ’s Glory.

“We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:5

“If anyone thinks himself to be religious,and yet does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart,this man’s religion is worthless.”
James 1:26

“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and cast it from you, for it is far better for you to lose one of the parts of your body,than for your whole body to go into hell.”
Matthew 5:29

While the Book of Proverbs speaks mainly in the “neutral” term of ‘men’, it does specify wife in this instance. It is essential that a wife (or future wife) be prudent! Let’s look one more time at the characteristics of the prudent, and apply it specifically to a wife’s role.

First of all, it says that “The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, and …seeks knowledge.” This implies that the prudent are consciously seeking out knowledge. This doesn’t mean that you just lackadaisically “drift” into knowledge-- it means just exactly what it says!!! But why would this be of importance to a godly wife? God does not call us to an idle, blind faith. Rather, we as daughters of the King of Kings, are to “search out a matter.” We are to be careful though; it is not God’s desire or design for us to puff our selves up with knowledge only. God desires women who truly seek after Him and gladly share all they know with others, not women who simply fill their brains with facts that they lord over others! But which do we practice most often in our own lives?(I know I do the latter far more often than the first) Think of it this way, “What is a wife and mother’s role?” A help-meet and teacher! If we are too proud to share our knowledge with others, we will be unable to, Lord willing,someday help our future husbands raise our children in the fear and admonition of our Creator and Savior God.

Second, we must have our priorities and authorities right. If we are consumed with getting a perfect score on the ACT, or becoming the world’s ‘best’ whatever, God is not pleased with the condition of our heart. For it says in Proverbs 1:7- “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…” We can not succeed if we don’t fear Christ. For if we don’t know and fear Christ, our hearts are in no condition to learn. And guess what? No matter how how widely respected Charles Darwin may be, according to Scripture, he is a fool, simpleton, and scoffer! “How long, O naïve ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge?” (Proverbs 1:22) What a lesson we should learn! Our authorities should be our God-given ones (our father or husband), and our priorities should be to forward their God-given Vision. That is why it is so important to take “every thought captive”.

Thirdly, in Proverbs 5:2 it says, “That you may observe discretion and your lips may reserve knowledge.” Did you realize that Scripture says that “the power of life and death are in the tongue”? What a powerful statement! It’s no wonder then that both Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 speak of how the godly woman uses her tongue! “She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” “Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.” This little body part called the mouth must be really important! Have you ever seen the influence a woman wields over her father or husband, simply with her tongue? That old rhyme, ‘Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’ is simply not true. Words, both written and spoken, are powerful. That perhaps, is why the psalmist asked the Lord to “place a guard over my mouth”. We can either encourage, or discourage; respect, or disparage; bless, or curse; build up, or tear down the authority figures in our life-- simply by the way we speak to or of them! Isn’t that unsettling?

Also, did you realize that one of the characteristics of the 'strange woman' or adulteress that Proverbs notes the most is her speech? That is amazing! We will be known by the way we speak, because our speech is a form of identification, either with the godly, or ungodly.