Wisdom from Above, Volume TwoBOOK REVIEW
By Stanley O. Williford
Director of Publications
In the first of her two-volume set of Wisdom from Above books, Dr. Betty R. Price wrote on such issues as her lengthy struggle to overcome cancer, raising children, forgiving oneself of past mistakes, homosexuality, and one of her signature issues: the abuse that some women endure, or allow themselves to endure, from men.
She got on women, too, especially those who claim to be so lonely that they throw themselves at men. And in that first volume she took a mild swipe at ministers who have affairs with women in their following. But she dealt with that subject more thoroughly in her book, Warning to Ministers, Their Wives, and Mistresses.
Like her husband, Apostle Frederick K.C. Price, she ventures where most leaders in the body of Christ fear to tread.
Wisdom from Above, Volume 2, touches on a few of the same issues as in Volume 1, but it is by no means a simple repeat of Volume 1. It begins with a chapter called The High Calling of God, and Dr. Betty makes this important point early:
“Some of us have been Christians long enough that we should be walking in a higher calling than we are. We should be at a point where we can help others by our example.”
Like the first volume, Volume 2 is taken from some of her many previous teachings. The power and wisdom are no less profound in this second volume.
She discusses the ever-prevalent issue of fornication.
“I talk about fornication just about every time I minister because it is still so prevalent in the body of Christ. Every year at our church we find out someone in helps ministry is having a problem with fornication, and we have to ask them to sit down from their position until they can get it together.
“So then, what do we do about our sexuality? When we feel like we need sex, what do we do with that desire? We do what Romans 12: 1-2 says to do:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
“The world does all kinds of ungodly things and keeps what it is doing before our eyes, like everything is all right. This is what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah. The people got so involved in sexual sin that it became common and acceptable. It is the same way in the world today.”
Another problem for some Christians falls in the area of not guarding their minds and mouths.
Dr. Betty writes:
“The believer’s day-to-day walk is crucial to the cause of Christ and to the welfare of society. We either contribute to the building up or the tearing down of society. We carry the message of life or death by our Christian walk. If wise, we present life. If unwise, we present death. Therefore, we don’t want to walk in death ourselves or present death to anyone else.
. . . “Don’t waste your time thinking or moping around about what you can’t do, how much money you don’t have, or where you can’t go. . . . Just do what you can to prosper the kingdom of God. Work with what you have. The rewards are well worth it in the end.”
Dr. Betty admonishes readers to dwell on the Word, not on the circumstances.
Chapter 2 is titled The Call to Serve.
“Every born-again person is called to servanthood. It is such a blessing to serve. To serve means ‘to wait on, to minister to,’” she writes in the chapter’s first line.
“It is a blessing to serve the Lord. Jesus tells us that if we serve Him, His father will honor us. Since Jesus is not here for us to serve Him directly, the way we serve Him is by serving one another with sincere love.”
Dr. Betty advises that “We need to be concerned about the interests of our brothers and sisters and not just think about ourselves. As we do this, the blessings of the Lord will come. It starts first at home with your family. If you don’t get yourself together in your own life and with your own family, it will be very difficult for you to go out and share – with any conviction – about the Christian life and Jesus.”
Chapter 2 has meaty, often comical, information about hers and Apostle’s personal life, especially in the early years of their marriage – how he didn’t want to go to church but instead wanted to play baseball, the shock of getting pregnant with their son Freddy at 44, Apostle’s morning routine during which it was forbidden to talk to him, how third daughter Stephanie and Freddy each liked to hang out late at night. There are also important and instructive stories about the lives of unnamed people that help make her points about life.
There are quite a few “juicy” tidbits in Chapter 2.
Chapter 3 is titled Growing in Godliness, a term that is strongly identified with Dr. Betty on the Ever Increasing Faith television broadcast.
The first line of the chapter reads this way: “Godliness means to be more like God by living a holy life in our thoughts, actions, and deeds. Holiness is living the godly life.”
She includes a prayer that she prays daily for the congregation at Crenshaw Christian Center.
On page 59, she adds this:
“After all the years Fred and I have been married, nobody can point a finger and say they ever caught us doing anything wrong. They may lie, which is fine, but as my husband always says, ‘Let them lie; just don’t let it be true.’ We let people say whatever they want to because we know God is going to back up the truth. We stand strong today in our marriage and in our commitment to the Lord because we made rules for ourselves to do things the right way. We made Jesus the center of our lives, and He is a good example to follow.”
Dr. Betty leads off Chapter 4, which is titled Overcoming Temptations, Trials, and Tests, with this sentence:
“Temptation, trials, and tests are constant challenges for mankind. Every sin is preceded by a temptation. The temptation itself is not the sin. Rather, it is what happens after the temptation comes that can cause the sin.”
In another place, she reminds the reader that, “Temptations first come to our minds, and many Christians think they have to yield to them. ‘Well, I thought it, so I should just as well do it,’ they reason. No, this is where discipline comes in – discipline to do the Word over the thought.”
Like Volume 1, Volume 2 is crammed with wisdom, and while both volumes lean to the female gender slightly more than the male, the wisdom it offers is not gender-specific. It’s all from God.
There are three other chapters, plus a list of Confessions for Success. Wisdom from Above, Volume 2, won’t just inform and instruct you. It will also entertain you.
The book is available online. Simply click on the following link to purchase.
https://eifm.netviewshop.com/shopDetail/BPB5
