Reflections on Wisdom

Wisdom is the use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. – Charles Spurgeon

We have heard the popular question: What would Jesus do? But wisdom is more than knowing what Jesus would do. It is doing it. Without a real and personal fear of God, there is no wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10) For even the demons are familiar with Jesus Christ.

Our need for wisdom is great. Wisdom is not only needed for the tough decisions of life (like who I should marry or what career I should pursue). It is needed in the seemingly insignificant decisions of life (such as how I should allocate my time to study and pray, to build others up, to enjoy leisure and how I might weed out sin and avoid temptations).

Wisdom should impact all of our lives. A few examples will show how pervasive wisdom should be. Wisdom would have us:
1. See the big picture of God’s redemption and not get caught up in the temporary. (Phil 1:6, Matthew 6:25-34, Luke 12:31-32)
2. Endure trials and tribulations, looking forward to heaven. (1 Peter 1:6,9, James 1)
3. Be doers of the word, not just hearers. (James 1:22, Psalm 111:10, Luke 11:28)
4. Forsake our idolatry and enjoy God’s grace. (Jonah 2:8)
5. Pursue holiness (1 Peter 1:13ff), love God and others (Matthew 22:37-40) and do good.

My need for wisdom is great. For example, I need wisdom to run the race of the Christian life with perseverance, to endure law school, to study diligently, and to walk by faith. I need to remember God’s awesome provision on the cross and His promise to meet all my needs through Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19) Will I waste my life and pursue earthly pleasures or will I answer wisdom’s call and pursue God’s glory?

Wisdom calls me to see God’s bigger plan and to partake in it. It also calls me to enjoy and relax in God’s providence.

Here is our comfort: if we earnestly seek to know Christ, we will become wise. When we see God, we become like him. (1 John 3:2) Who is this God that we become like? He is the God of all wisdom. In Christ is “hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Col 2:2b-3)

In essense, when we ask God for wisdom (James 1:5), we are asking God to reveal himself to us and make us more like him, since he alone is all wise.

Seek the Lord while he may be found — and among the gifts of pardon and forgiveness, you will find wisdom freely given. What a great motivation to study the Gospels — to encounter the wisdom and person of Jesus Christ!

In the past, God spoke through prophets, but in the last days, the Son has been revealed to us in the flesh. The Lord, in his mercy towards us, has provided the Scriptures for our salvation and as a guide to proper living. These are things into which angels long to look. (1 Peter 1:10-12) Let us seek the Lord– immortal, invisible, God only wise.

SDG.