Wisdom
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The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom Psalm 111:10
It has been on my heart for a long while now to write about wisdom. It seems that many Christians work diligently with themselves to be everything the Bible says is good- to have faith, have hope, act in love. They try to forgive, they want to be generous and pray for those in need. Some want to raise the dead, found a church and heal a thousand sick people by Monday morning, when they are due back at the office. Some may really do it. The point is, everyone has their own perceptions and intuitions as to what God is to them, what they need from God, and what God needs back. Wisdom plays a key role in helping us choose what we need to focus on, and in what order. It keeps us from wandering the pages of life making aimless marks everywhere.
(NIV) Proverbs 2:1 "My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."
...it goes on to say in verse 9...
"Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil..."
Wisdom is palatable and tasty to your soul! Your heart waters for it! It comes straight from the mouth of God, and is derived directly from to the magic substance that is the lamp unto your feet and light before your path (Psalms 119:105); both are the words of God.
We already know that we can rely on God for all of our needs (according to his riches and glory- Phil. 4:19), and our feet will not strike a stone (Psalm 91) because of his protection. We need to accept that God wants us to be strong, and of a sound mind, as well as spiritually, emotionally, and physically strong. He wants us to be wise!
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Defining Wisdom
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Wisdom (in my opinion) is a guideline,having forethought, even patience at times. I found that in googling 'define wisdom', there were more questions than answers as to what it is. Most of the searches resulted in people's personal perceptions of wisdom, and not one strong defining term or word. Is wisdom so difficult to explain? Or is it the fact that secular man cannot comprehend the greatest things that come from God? Is wisdom like rain to them, that it falls on occasion and nourishes, but essentially, they can't create it? I wonder.
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Definitions of wisdom on the Web:
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* accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment
* the trait of utilizing knowledge and experience with common sense and insight
* ability to apply knowledge or experience or understanding or common sense and insight
* the quality of being prudent and sensible
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Here's the Wikipedia of Wisdom;
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Wisdom is the ability, developed through experience, insight and reflection, to discern truth and exercise good judgment. It is sometimes conceptualized as an especially well developed form of common sense. Most psychologists regard wisdom as distinct from the cognitive abilities measured by standardized intelligence tests. Wisdom is often considered to be a trait that can be developed by experience, but not taught. When applied to practical matters, the term wisdom is synonymous with prudence. Some see wisdom as a quality that even a child, otherwise immature, may possess independent of experience or complete knowledge.
The status of wisdom or prudence as a virtue is recognized in cultural, philosophical and religious sources. Some define wisdom in a utilitarian sense, as foreseeing consequences and acting to maximize the long-term common good.
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So, what is it???! Is it accumulated knowledge? Random insights? Common sense?!
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To me it's laughable that it would ever be common sense. If Solomon was given excessive wisdom in the form of common sense, he would have been common! Polite, maybe... but normal. He would've had a book about manners, not prudence. The very term 'common sense' means that everyone has it already. It's common. (Plus, if you recall, Solomon prayed for his wisdom)
Accumulated knowledge? No. Everyone has their own experiences, and their own opinions of what is good. They focus their time in learning what they think they need to know. Book smarts cannot compare to wisdom. It's like asking a software program for compassion. When was the last time Windows said to you, 'you know what? I don't think I'll generate any errors today. I just realized that I'm here to serve you, my customer, and it might be wise not to piss you off with so many errors...' (can you tell my computer's not up yet?! Anyways...) Knowledge is different from wisdom.
Random insights. Here's an insight; If I look inside myself, I realize that I hate when I drink too much water before bed and have to wake up in the middle of the night to go pee...was that insightful enough to be wise? I'll assume you said no.
I don't know if wisdom is something mankind can have at all without God, just as I believe we owe our conscious minds to him. He made us smarter than the beasts of the field, and allowed us to actually think for ourselves. Wisdom is a form of perception that I feel has to come from God.
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If you notice, those that sin rarely sin wisely.
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Wasn't there a time when you heard about a crime and said, 'why would they think that would work? Or 'what a stupid criminal he was.'
The verse mentioned above, from Proverbs 2 (in the amplified) is our example;
2:9Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and fair dealing [in every area and relation]; yes, you will understand EVERY GOOD PATH.
It doesn't say every crafty or smart path, here wisdom is goodness, too. And to tie that in with God's words as wisdom, doesn't it all make sense? God's words are good, and will lead you down a righteous path. God speaks, and wisdom comes, just like the world was formed with his words. Every good thing comes from the mouth of God, and so that same voice of God that is manifested tangibly into life and creation, that is the same voice that will breathe wisdom into your soul. All you need to do is ask.
SO LET'S PRAY; Father God, we pray for your wisdom in our lives! We give all of our worldly ways to you, and ask that you would filter our hearts and minds through your will so that we are refined. We give you praise for your amazing wisdom that no man can generate on his own, and ask that you would generate wisdom within us. That we would be wise, denouncing our old, foolish ways, and preferring your wisdom to childish behavior and what would trap us by seaming easy or crafty. We pray that your wisdom would change us all for the better, and that we would teach others your ways and wisdom. We claim this blessing and praise you for this in Jesus' mighty name, AMEN!
PS- It seems important to mention that God hates foolishness. I'd always thought it sounded weird, that God would despise the silly fool who only lacks a bit of understanding, until I realized that foolishness is the result of a rejection of God's word- rejecting wisdom. And as God was the Word, and the Word was God, fools aren't simple silly people, they've actually chosen to oppose God by doing whatever they want without a mind for consequence or moderation. At first I thought it seemed harsh, like God was picking on the simple-minded, but it goes much deeper than that, possibly into spiritual warfare.
(To all wondering about the picture, the stairs lead to Heaven... 4laugh )
