In the loving words of a father, wise King Solomon of ancient Israel says: “My son, if you will receive my sayings and treasure up my own commandments with yourself, so as to pay attention to wisdom with your ear, that you may incline your heart to discernment; if, moreover, you call out for understanding itself and you give forth your voice for discernment itself, if you keep seeking for it as for silver, and as for hid treasures you keep searching for it, in that case you will understand the fear of Jehovah, and you will find the very knowledge of God.”​—Proverbs 2:1-5.

Do you see where the responsibility for gaining wisdom lies? In these verses, the expression “if you” appears three times. Clearly, it is up to each one of us to seek wisdom and its handmaidens​—discernment and understanding. First, though, we need to “receive” and “treasure up” in memory the words of wisdom recorded in the Scriptures. For this we need to study the Bible.

The repeated phrase “if you” in the opening passage of the second chapter of Proverbs is followed by such expressions as “receive,” “treasure up,” “call out,” “keep seeking,” “keep searching.” Why does the writer use these expressions of increasing intensity? Says one reference work: “The sage [here] emphasizes the necessity of earnestness in the pursuit of wisdom.” Yes, we must earnestly pursue wisdom and its related qualities​—discernment and understanding.