We are so very grateful to my Brother Gorden Eden for his message to us today!WISDOM – HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL!
In the days of black and white television there was a fictional character called Paladin. A gun for hire whose calling card simply stated “Have Gun Will Travel, Wire Paladin, San Francisco.” I remember watching this television series (in re-runs) in the late 1960’s. In the 1990’s I did so much traveling, watching TV in hotel rooms and watched almost every episode of “Have Gun Will Travel.”
Paladin was no “ordinary” gunslinger for hire. Paladin was a West Point graduate who decided to go west. His training and practice made him an exceptional marksman. He was humble man and knew his abilities. While Paladin was never afraid to use his gun, he rarely did. He always thought carefully through each situation, gathering as much information and asking the right people the right questions. He would always impart sound thoughtful wisdom with humility. In one episode Paladin tells an adversary, “I don’t think you got a very good look at the gun while you had it. The balance is perfect. This trigger responds to a pressure of one ounce. If you look in the barrel you’ll see the lines of the rifling. It’s a rarity in a hand weapon. This gun was handcrafted to my specifications and I rarely draw it unless I mean to use it. Would care for a demonstration?”
Paladin would always act with wisdom and humility. The screen writers were very very good. But there is far greater source for wisdom. Wisdom is one of the most highly regarded gifts you can receive from God. His wisdom is gold, His wisdom lives forever, His wisdom is freely given and unconditional. If you want wisdom, humble your heart. Wisdom travels with humility. In many ways, wisdom takes a back seat to humility.
“When you act with presumption, convinced that you’re right, don’t be surprised if you fall flat on your face! But walking in humility helps you to make wise decisions.” Proverbs 11:2 TPT
Pride is your enemy! Being full of pride, feeding your ego at the sacrifice of others, boasting and elevating yourself above others pushes you out of position to receive wisdom. Interesting that the fictional character Paladin was not prideful, never boasting – he was confident because of wisdom and was humble in his life. Without humility, you are out of position to receive wisdom. Humility places you in the perfect position to receive wisdom.
Paladin was victorious because his adversaries acted and reacted with a prideful heart. Pride may get you what you want – standby… you are going to live your life always watching your rearview mirror.
We can have all the knowledge in the world stored in our brains, but if we don’t know how to apply it and move that information to action, we don’t have wisdom. Better to be humble and follow the ways of wisdom. Wisdom allows you to rest well; wisdom gives grace; wisdom gets results with no regrets. So, humbly invite and welcome in the gracious wisdom of God.
“Self-confident know-it-alls will prove to be fools. But when you lean on the wisdom from above, you will have a way to escape the troubles of your own making.”
Proverbs 28:26 TPT
