sagacious |səˈgā sh əs|…adjective…having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment; shrewd : they were sagacious enough to avoid any outright confrontation. See note at sensible .
wise, clever, intelligent, knowledgeable, sensible, sage; discerning, judicious, canny, perceptive, astute, shrewd, prudent, thoughtful, insightful, perspicacious; informal streetwise, savvy; formal sapient. ANTONYMS foolish.
Hey, I just love this word! Sagacious! How many Biblical sentences can we make with it? Try it!
thedailylily.com 
How about: Jesus Christ has been made unto us Sagacity.-__1Cor:30
“He who wins souls is Sagacious” ___Pro. 11:30)
Cool word I am unfamiliar with…
Luke 16:8 came to mind:
“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted ‘sagaciously’. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light..”
This is one that includes several of the synonyms:
“For the Lord gives skillful and godly SAGACITY; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. ”
Proverbs 2:6
“Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. He was very wise and had knowledge and understanding. He could explain dreams and secrets and could answer very hard problems. Call for Daniel. He will tell you what the writing on the wall means.” Daniel 5:12
Daniel was sagacious enough to later be depicted as a prophet with his early experiences serving as the basis for his future ministry.
Proverbs 11:2
“When pride comes, then comes shame. but with the humble comes SAGACITY or (SAGACIOUSNESS).”
i found one definition on the Web Dict. (Princeton, edu )defining this as the ability to “understand and discriminate between relations”..I thought that to be especially significant, with some play-on-words humor, when discriminating among our relations (blood relatives…. those kind of ‘relations’). I think Jesus talked about that in His Book…”who is my mother and brother…”
Solomon was considered, according to I Kings 4:31, wiser than all men. Vs 32 says, “He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five.”
The sagaciousness of Solomon was displayed before two quarrelling women who both claimed ownership of the same baby. (from I Kings 3:16-28)
How about Matthew 10:16 NIV
Matthew 10:16 (New International Version)
16. I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as sagacious as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Or
Our Savior Jesus Christ is sagacious.
I love, love, love all the above. But, I really love Matthew 10:16, “Therefore be as sagacious as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
Good one, Rena. That definition of Sagacious referring to the reptile covers another synomym and aspect of the definition of SAGACIOUS..savvy, shrewd, canny
How about this one? Proverbs 13:10 “Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise.”–or sagacious
That’s good, Needles. Proverbe 3:35 says, ” The sagacious shall inherit all honor and good but shame is the highest rank conferred on self-confident fools.”
How about this one also?
Proverbs 6:6-8 (New Living Translation)
6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become sagacious!
7 Though they have no prince
or governor or ruler to make them work,
8 they labor hard all summer,
gathering food for the winter.
These are great reading all the different usages!
Here’s another to add to…
“Those who are wise (or sagacious) will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:3
In reading these ‘SAGACIOUSNESS’ verses one gets to see the various nuances in God’s Word. Oh the Sagaciousness of GOD’S Word! How infinite it IT!!
Micah 6:9 says, “The Voice of the Lord calls to the city (and the people of the city). And it is sound SAGACITY to hear and to fear Your wonderful Name. Heed the ROD and HIM Who has appointed it.”
That is really something to think about particularly at this time & season.
Read with me: (Matthew 25: 1-13) “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise (sagacious). The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise (sagacious)enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’ But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’ So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.”
Needles, that’s a scary narrative from the Gospels. We all need to think about that, especially now, in the end times.
Here’s one from Proverbs, (MESSAGE) “If you think you’re a KNOW-IT-ALL, you’re a fool for sure. Real survivors learn Sagaciousness from others.”
Prov. 29:8..”A gang of cynics can upset a whole city. A group of sagacious persons (SAGES) can calm everyone down”
This proverb is quite apropos. Prov. 31:26
“she opens her mouth in skillful and godly ‘sagacity’ and on her tongue is the law of kindness, giving counsel and instruction (not tearing down or accusation but kind reproof)
Reading these ‘sagacious’ scriptures and comments helps make one realize what an important virtue ‘sagacious’ is to possess.
Proverbs 14 looks full of ‘sagaciousness’…here’s one from vs 8 that seems to go along w/ Needles’ comment…we better be giving thought to what we do and stay alert…
“The wisdom of the prudent (sagacious) is to give thought to their ways,
but the folly of fools is deception.”
‘
Needles, love the parable of the 10 virgins. Wonder if the 5 with no oil were those that lie, deceive and gossip. I think at times some of us want to build our self image by character attach of another. Our mouths running with anything but the Oil of The Holy Spirit. There is a self image disorder that runs rampant and causes one to run off at the mouth. I believe this is a ‘non- sagacious’ pill people are taking like an addictive drug.
Proverbs 28:9 (King James Version) “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law,(sagacious truth) even his prayer shall be abomination.” We don’t want truth, we search for anything but truth and enjoy telling it. We have prejudice against sagacious living.
MG quoted Proverb 31 “…(not tearing down or accusation but kind reproof)”
A very good friend of mine told me just recently about a family relation that became somewhat incensed, ie very angry with her. The family relation was very angry by a kind jester that was made toward her. It was in writing so there was no question of what was said. But, the truth prevailed. The poor mind was twisted because this person was in so much pain from a sickness and other related family issues. I have learned over years that a person in pain or sick or suffering from issues may not know or want to know the difference between accusation or reproof. It all seems like a spoof when the one that has the twisted mind cannot discern between sagaciousness and foolishness.
The first scenerio Sara spoke of… character assassination, is like pointing a loaded gun back at yourself when you think you are aiming to shoot another..it back fires at you. This scripture is sobering and should spur us onto sagacious living. “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matt 7:2
Wisdom (SAGACITY OR SAGACIOUSNESS) implies a mature integration of appropriate knowledge, a seasoned ability to filter the inessential from the essential.___Childre & Rozman
sagacious or foolish? Spoof or truth?
Dictionary says, Sagacity…the quality of being sagacious : I have often thought of Chickenfarmer as a woman of great spiritual sagacity. But, it seems like her sagaciousness has become a scarcity.
James 1:5 says, If any of you lacks sagacity, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to them.
When you obtain and retain sagaciousness, you obtain happiness, get a tree of Life, have something better than rubies and possess peace among other things. (Proverbs 3:13-18)
“Happy is the man who finds sagaciousness (vs 13)…
Sagaciousness is more precious than rubies (vs 15)…
And all her (sagaciousness’s)paths are peace. (vs 17)…
She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her…
And happy are all who retain her. “(vs 18) NKJ
Sagacious comes from studing and knowing the Word of God. We can increase our wisdom and intellegence through our relationship with our Lord. We must not only study and know God’s Word but apply it to our daily lives. Knowledge without action is just private thoughts with no difference. What good is knowledge that is unused. It’s like having a beautiful car with no gas. It goes no where. We must fill our gas tanks with obiedience and we must be willing to press the accelerator pedal and use our wisdom and knowledge according to God’s will. We must be focus and self-disciplined to be a sagacious disciple of God. We are foolish if we are content with “self-wisdom”. Now, I know that sometimes our tank isn’t full everyday or as Sara stated above our sagiousness has become a scarcity. This is when we need to stop what we are doing and go to God’s Word and pray. By plugging into God, we will recharge our energy and our sagiousness. It runs through our Spirit, just waiting to be used. We fill up our tanks with obedience and push on, ready to be used by our Lord. We must break through our flesh and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us. I’m sure that there were times when the apostle Paul didn’t feel like walking to another town to preach and possible be beaten to death, but he broke through his flesh and followed the Holy Spirit. His sagacious not only blessed him but blessed others in hearing distance. So we must change our scarcity sagaciousness to overflowing sagaciousness. Thank you Sara for sharing your sagaciousness and you like the apostle Paul breaking through your flesh to push on and following the Holy Spirit. We must push on and be tuned up with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen, Chicfarmer, that’s the way to preach!
Fill up my tank with obedience and drive on is quite a task as you have written. Let me just repeat your words and they will suffice, “So we must change our scarcity sagaciousness to overflowing sagaciousness…”
“Knowledge without action is just private thoughts with no difference.” Now that’s a pretty sagacious comment chickenfarmer. My mother had a phrase for people w/ that kind of knowledge…’full of hot air’.
People catch on and soon learn not to listen to a wind-bag. Only God’s wisdom will win men’s hearts to the Lord.
“Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
What does spiritual minds discuss?
Spiritual minds discuss the truth, God’s Word. From the beginning of time to the end. God’s Word will stand. Romans 8:6 “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.” Sara, Only a Spiritual mind leads to life and peace. So it really dosen’t matter if we have great minds, average minds or small minds, our minds will surely die unless we have a spiritual mind. So are we going to listen to a mind full of death, even if they have a great idea or are we going to listen to a mind full of life and peace. I chose life and peace. What is your choose?
Chickenfarmer, if our minds discuss the truth, then our mouths should keep in step with the discussion…right?
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Col 4:6
CF & Debi, if we put on the armor of God each day like a garment; the helmet of salvation covers our minds, our thought life, our focus, our recall….it’s actually the ‘mind of Christ’. And if we put on, like a garment, our belt of truth, and wear it as a support for our lives, then whatever situation we are in, the Truth of God’s Gospel will reign in our lives and be manifest in our speech. If we put on the shoes of the Gospel then we will walk in peace each day right through the tough customers we encounter every day in our work place and in our professions because those sandals of Gospel peace rule our daily walk. Jesus has provided this raiment especially for us.
This reminds me of the parable that Jesus told about the wedding feast that a rich man held for his son. He invited friends & relatives but they all declined for one reason or another. Then he invited acquaintances but they all gave excuses. Finally he told his servants to go out and compel the street people to come in. Finally his banquet hall was filled. The rich man came to look over the guests. He noticed one man did NOT have on a proper wedding garment.
Now, when I first read this story in the Bible that Jesus told, I was puzzled by it because all these guests were poor, poverty stricken, homeless, derelict, so I wondered why in the world the rich man would expect them to have a proper wedding garment on. Then one day I heard a Bible teacher explain the customs of the eastern world. He said….at the eastern weddings APPROPRIATE GARMENTS were provided for all the guests who entered the wedding banquet. GET IT?
Jesus was saying…to the effect….I have provided you with the proper raiment to enter into the marriage feast of the Lamb of God. You have the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the sword, the shield, the belt and the shoes…the robes of righteousness, the garment of praise. All these i have provided for you through my work on the Cross. But you must PUT THEM ON to enter in.
And so the rich man cast out the man who refused to wear the proper attire for the Wedding Banquet, even though it had been provided at the gate, the DOOR.
The Kingdom of GOD is like that! But Jesus has provided everthing we need for life and godliness and the robes of righteousness Let us put them on and wear Jesus like a cloak.
Oh Rock, Oh steady Rock
And faultless was Your work
You shed your precious blood
In the covenenal cutting
(c) mghenry 9chorus from song)
Correction: that last line of the song above is “in the COVENANTAL cutting.
I love the poetic sound of ‘a helmet of salvation, a belt of truth, a garment of praise’ and many other poetic sounds. It seems easier said, sung and prayed that the actual wearing. What happens to all our fancy gear when we sit down in a restaurant to have lunch, dinner, breakfast and work and social related gatherings? I spend a lot of time in restaurants,business meetings and I don’t hear much spiritual clatter or chatter from the sounds of a helmet, metal breastplate, jeweled belt and a talking praise garment. Does it all represent God’s holiness?
I sit and wonder, why?
In one of my favorite books, The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer, he speaks of ‘removing the opaque veil of self that hides the face of God from us’. He says it a fleshly, unfallen nature living on and says its ‘more at home at a Bible conference than in a tavern.’ And he says when we talk and speak about rending it (removing/dealing with it), we speak in ‘figure’. The thought, he says, is poetical, almost pleasant. In actuality, however, there’s ‘nothing pleasant’ about allowing the cross do its work in us so we can be holy.
Likewise, I am thinking that there may be some correlation here to putting on the spiritual armor and it representing holiness.
Some, in fact many of the scriptures are poetical, some prose, some allegorical, some are parabolic, some prosaic but the Bible tells us to do many difficult things, like to put on the armor….and Paul likens it to putting on the armor as a Roman soldeir would do, except that he spiritualizes it. Paul is really saying, put on the mind of Christ, speak the Word, walk in peace, stay in faith, tell the truth…it really sounds much like the 10 commandments.
It’s not just the Spiritual armor that is not manifest in some Christiians. Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect. What part of the spiritual walk is a cake walk? None, that I can tell. Sure it’s “not pleasant”, as Debi says above but what part of putting to death this globby flesh is easy? None of it is attainable but by the help of our Standby, Counselor, Guide, Advocate, the Holy Spirit.
The Apostles asked Jesus….”Then who can be saved?”. Jesus answered, with ‘MAN it is impossible” but with GOD, Jesus, the Holy Spirit all things are possible. So we take up the cross of the Christ, put HIM on, and step by stumble by step we strive to progress on this journey. Some of us won’t make it….our work will be incomplete, as Jesus says in the Book of Revelation, but we must still strive to do it.
Walk, stumble, get up, walk, stumble, get up. It’s the way of the cross-bearers. We strive to obey, while in this ghastly fleshly tent (our cross) that hinders, distracts, disobeys, pouts, flares in anger…but we pick ourselves up with the help of God and keep moving toward the prize of the high calling of Jesus Christ Just because it’s HARD doesn’t mean we can’t do it or we are not able…because Jesus said with God all things are possible.
Debi, can you give more detail on Tozer and the veil and the tavern and Bible conference?
Tozer uses the analogy of the Old testament tabernacle to illustrate his point about the veil. He describes the ‘interior journey of the soul’ as passing through two veils…the first veil which is getting into the holy place where ‘Jesus the Light of the World’. I understand this to mean salvation.
He says there is still another veil to pass through (or have removesd): “Another veil separated from the Holy of Holies where above the mercy seat dwelt the very God Himself in awful and glorious manifestation.”
My understanding is that this is the veil that must be removed if we are to live in God’s presence and walk in the Spirit continually.
Quoting Tozer: “It was this last veil which was rent when our Lord gave up the ghost on Calvary, and the sacred writer explains that this rending of the veil opened the way for every worshipper in the world to come by the new and living way straight into the divine Presence.”
It seems to me that God desires for the believer to live in His Presence in reality. Not just read about it, talk about it or have head knowledge about it but no practical, daily application.
He quotes, and this is where I think he makes a distinction that I believe compares to the theory or the actual practice of wearing the armor of God: “At the heart of the Christian message is God Himself waiting for His redeemed children to push in to conscious awareness of His Presence. That type of Christianity which happens now to be the vogue knows this Presence only in theory. It fails to stress the Christian’s privilege of present realization.” … “Between the scribe who has read and the prophet who has seen there is a difference as wide as the sea. We are today overrun with orthodox scribes, but the prophets, where are they?”
Here is how he defines the present day veil:
“What is it? What but the presence of a veil in our hearts? A veil not taken away as the first veil was, but which remains there still shutting out the light and hiding the face of God from us. It is the veil of our fleshly fallen nature living on……an enemy to our lives and an effective block to our spiritual progress.”
The veil, he says, is woven of self-sins. “To be specific, the self-sins are these: self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love and a host of others like them. They dwell too deep within us and are too much a part of our natures to come to our attention till the light of God is focused upon them.”
Here’s where he elaborates on why self can is more comfortable at a Bible conference than in a tavern:
“I trust it is not a cynical observation to say that they (self-sins) appear these days to be a requisite for popularity in some sections of the Church visible. Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notice. “… “Self can live unrebuked at the very altar. It can watch the bleeding Victim die and not be in the least affected by what it sees. It can fight for the faith of the Reformers and preach eloquently the creed of salvation by grace, and gain strength by its efforts.”
Thank you, Debi, for Tozer’s thoughts and your interpretation. A little deep for me to grasp with much understanding. I think Tozer wrote this book in 1940 ish.
The little understanding I have of this is that Tozer believed in prevenient grace, saying that before we can seek God He must first have sought us. I think most Christians would believe this based on “No man can come to Jesus, except the Father which sent Jesus draws them.” John 6:44
Therefore, would I take away from this communicate that we wait for the enlightenment of the soul and then act on it. And, if we do anything before we are sought out by God we are hiding behind a veil with little or no light so we stumble around in the dark rather than wait for light.
No, I don’t believe you take away at all, but rather you clarify and add to in a way we all can understand more clearly.
I think this statement of Tozer’s is in alignment with yours: “Let us beware of tinkering with our inner life in hope ourselves to rend the veil. God must do everything for us. Our part is to yield and trust.” He also says that we can… ‘insist that the work be done in very truth and it will be done.”
We may ask, how do we wait? What do we do while we are waiting?
Sara, you wrote a song many years ago that I often go back and meditate on and pray and sing. I am meditating on it again today as I reflect on these questions and the last paragraph you wrote above. I know it has been posted on The Daily Lily before, but I think it is so helpful to read again and again and reflect upon…while we wait.
My Waiting Room
by Sara Mullennex
There’s a waiting in My room,
There’s a waiting in My room,
There’s a waiting, waiting, waiting in My room.
As I wait I see His face
Shining as the Glory of Grace.
As I wait, as I wait in His room.
In His room there’s power and fire
For the cleansing of my soul;
As I wait, as I wait in His room.
In His room there’s no fear
Doubt or strife or unbelief
That is why I must wait in His room.
There is praise and much worship
As I wait in His room.
As I wait, as I wait in His room.
It has set the captives free,
Opened eyes of many to see
Now I know the power of waiting in His room.
I can see, I can see
In the world as I go
As His light has broken forth in my soul.
Oh, I waited in His room
And the victory has been won
That is why I must wait in His room.
Debi, in saying ‘take away’ above I was thinking a little different and should have made myself clearer. I was trying to say ‘do I understand’?
No, I think you wrote clearly, but I mis-read. However, I believe that what I responded conveyed that you do understand correctly. Further, the way you elaborated on it gave me some clarification and further understanding on what Tozer wrote. Thank you.