在美國某個小鎮上，醫生伊茲丹為他年幼的女兒艾莉諾孕育了一個宏大的夢想。伊茲丹的小女兒患有唐氏綜合症，他希望能開一間店，讓女兒將來能有一份維生的工作。為了這個夢想，他報名參加了烘焙課程，並學習如何創業。後來他跟妻子在懷俄明州的小鎮上，開了一間家庭經營的麵包店，生意興隆。伊茲丹說：「這間店已成為真正的生意，有了一位店員。」因為如今艾莉諾長大了，負責收銀並聯繫線上的顧客。伊茲丹還說：「鎮上的每個人都認識她。」伊茲丹憑信心為艾莉諾的未來制定計劃，反映了他精明謹慎的決策。

精明謹慎是聖經典型的美德。上帝要我們在為現在及未來訂計劃時，具備這個智慧元素。箴言14章8節說：「精明人的智慧能分辨自己的道路；愚昧人的愚妄卻欺騙自己」（新譯本）。精明的人不會擔心未來，也不會什麼都不做，他們會向上帝尋求智慧，以便為將來制定計劃。

事實上，在中文翻譯為通達或精明的這個詞彙，有明智、謹慎之意，也可說有先見之明。15節說：「愚蒙人凡話都信；精明的人卻步步謹慎」（新譯本）。精明的人預見可能發生的情況，明智地努力建立一個安全網，這就是智者的行動方案！

願我們能憑著信心，帶著敏銳的洞察力，謹慎地生活，與上帝同步。

Small-town physician Ezdan nurtured a grand dream for his young daughter Eleanor. She has Down syndrome, and he hoped to open a business to provide paid work for her future. Feeling “terrified” to pursue his dream, he took an online course on how to start a business. Then he and his wife launched a family bakery in their Wyoming town, and it’s thriving. “It has become a real business, with a staff,” Ezdan said. Eleanor, now grown, works the cash register and connects with online customers. “Everybody in town knows who she is,” says Ezdan. His leap of faith in planning for Eleanor’s future reflects his choice to be prudent.

Its a classic biblical virtue. Prudence is an element of wisdom that God ordains for our current and future planning. “The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,” says Proverbs 14:8, “but the folly of fools is deception.” Rather than worry about the future, or do nothing about it, prudent people look to God for wisdom to plan for it.

In fact, prudence comes directly from the Latin word prudentia, meaning “foresight.” “The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps” (v. 15). Foreseeing what could happen, they work sensibly to build a safety net—a strong course of action for the wise!

With clear-eyed faith, may we live prudently, in step with God.