Starting
in June, when I became team leader, I began really studying the book of
Proverbs. I figured since I was going to
be a leader, I should make the pursuit of wisdom a higher priority in my life. This is what I’ve found:
I’m a
pretty simple guy and so after reading Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, I tried to
summarize the foundations of wisdom as simply as I can (for my benefit as well
as everyone yours). Most people would
define wisdom as “making good use of the knowledge that we have”. I don’t think so this is wrong, but I believe
there is more to it then that.
Considering, that I believe that wisdom was with God when He created the
universe (Pro. 3:19), and that God is the only wise one (Ecc. 8:17). With that knowledge, I would personally
define wisdom as “being able to see the world from God’s perspective”. So if only God possesses true wisdom, how do
sinful creatures like us possess this trait that God invites us to pursue (Pro.
1:20-23)?
Psalm
111:10 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The word usage of fear might be confusing to
people who know Jesus as their savior and friend. But, for believers, the word fear is used to
mean respect and revere. So then, wisdom
starts with knowing God and giving Him the respect and reverence He
deserves. This is crucial to attaining
wisdom according to James 1:5. Because
then we must approach the throne of God and ask for it.
As you
know God more and your respect for Him grows, the other foundational quality of
wisdom becomes evident. True wisdom is
humble. As your relationship with Jesus deepens, you’ll
begin to understand that that He is the only wise one and no matter how much we
grow in wisdom we will always be fools in comparison (Pro 3:7, 11:2 and Rom.
11:33). Because of this a wise person’s
wisdom is marked by how they take correction or advice (Pro. 9:8).
Since
true wisdom is marked by humility, you would then come to the conclusion that
wisdom is not just a mental understanding.
True wisdom is in the heart (Ecc. 10:2).
With wisdom residing in the hearts of those who love Him, we are freed
from the instability of moodiness and other external factors from affecting the
flow of wisdom in our life.
So let
me encourage you to take James advice and ask the God of wisdom for it, because
He has plenty to spare. But before I
close this let me end in two warnings.
The first is to avoid the folly of assuming this is all there is to
wisdom. All you have to do is read
Proverbs to see that wisdom encompasses finances, friendships, careers,
parenting, marriage and much more. So I
encourage you to seek wisdom in all aspects of your life. Secondly, I beg you to not fall into the
folly of pursuing wisdom above the one who gives it. This is a form of idolatry. True wisdom is given, not learned. So pursue God, and you will find wisdom. And with wisdom you’ll soon discover that
knowing God is the true gift, wisdom is just a perk.
