Meet Arnie Knecht

Wisdom, personified as a woman, positions herself strategically at the entrance to the city. She calls out passionately to all who would hear, imploring them to heed her words. Yet fools disdain her and suffer the fruit of their folly. 

Wisdom must speak loudly, for the streets around her are abuzz with commerce, and the sounds of a bustling marketplace would drown out her pleas. Here, Satan prowls among the unwary, peddling counterfeit wares to those who would buy them. A dealer of deception, he promises much but delivers nothing. 

Across the road, the tradesman of worldly goods beckons all to his offerings. The packaging is attractive, but the product is defective. The entire marketplace, it seems, is a bazaar of betrayal. 

Wisdom is a defense against the deception of the enemy and the seduction of the world's enticements (Proverbs 4:6). It is the ability to foresee tomorrow's consequences of today's actions. Although a godly wife modeled wisdom before me, my arrogant ways continued to prevail. Like each of us who trusts in his own understanding, I was easy prey for the purveyors of lies. It was after much pain that God opened my eyes to His wisdom for salvation—the provision of a Savior.

I didn't really want to be anywhere at 6 a.m. on a Friday, but my new friend, Clyde, had invited me to his Bible study. They were a scholarly group, spending weeks dissecting short segments of Scripture. Though I was blind to the spiritual significance, over time I became increasingly impacted by an observation I could not account for. It was 1986, and these men all worked in real estate-related businesses. The cycle had turned downward, and all of them were suffering economic hardship. As I projected myself into their uncertainty, I concluded I would be a nervous wreck. But they were not. The living testimony of their peace, trust, and confidence in the face of a storm displayed for me the difference Christ made in their lives. I wanted what they had, and I prayed to receive Him.