Wisdom is a concept that seems pretty straight forward. We hear that word being used a lot in all kinds of spheres, but when I started really thinking about what it was, how I use it and how to gain more, it got slightly more cloudy for me. So I turned to the trusty google and looked it up. It turns out there is a pretty good reason that what wisdom really is can be so hard to nail down.
All the dictionaries had slightly different nuances to their definitions and if you wanted to know what the Bible said, well, there was a lot more to unpack. For example, google’s dictionary said wisdom was, “the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment.” Pretty simple and straight forward. The Cambridge English dictionary says, “the ability to use your knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgements.” Dictionary.com says, “the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight.” Lastly for now, The Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines wisdom as “knowledge, and the capacity to make due use of it.”
You can see that there is something about wisdom that makes it different from knowledge. Mainly, there is something moral about it, a “rightness” to it and a knowing how to use your knowledge to accomplish something good. Wisdom isn’t just knowing something but allowing that knowledge to affect your moral compass. Wisdom isn’t something that only exists in your head but it plays out in your actions and your reactions. It is letting what you say you believe dictate your behavior.
I don’t know about you but when I hear the word wisdom, there is one name that comes to mind. I’ve heard stories about Solomon and his wisdom my whole life. In fact one of my earliest memories and favorite Bible stories is the one where two women are fighting over who the real mother of a baby is. They both had recently delivered babies and one baby died during the night, causing the grieving mother to switch the babies while the other slept and claim that the living baby was hers. There was no proof in the case, simply one person’s word against another’s. I remember reading that story for the first time and wondering how Solomon would ever decide who was the true mother. It was genius I had never considered to offer to give a half of the child to each mother, simply to know who would rather loose her baby than see it murdered.
The other biggest thing I remember about Solomon is the story of how he gained this great wisdom in the first place. In 1 Kings, the Bible tells the story of God meeting with Solomon and asking him what he would like the Lord to give him. Solomon is still rather young and has been tasked with ruling the kingdom. He asks the Lord for wisdom and the Bible says the Lord is pleased with this request. Verse 11 starts, “So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”
The book of Proverbs is said to hold some of the wisdom of Solomon. He is considered the book’s author. So as I was reading in chapter 4, these words jumped off the page at me.
3 For I too was a son to my father,
still tender, and cherished by my mother.
4 Then he taught me, and he said to me,
“Take hold of my words with all your heart;
keep my commands, and you will live.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or turn away from them.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you.
9 She will give you a garland to grace your head
and present you with a glorious crown.”
I had visions of David sitting with a very young Solomon, knowing that he would be king one day, and telling him these words. I can only imagine the times that David tried to really drive it home, that wisdom was the most precious possession that a king could have. In fact, the subheading to these verses is, “Get Wisdom at Any Cost.” I just wondered how much David’s “preaching” to Solomon about the importance of wisdom affected his request when asked what he wanted from the Lord.
So we know that David (a man after God’s own heart) instructed Solomon to desire wisdom, to chase after it and search for it at all costs. It had to be important both for Solomon and his children, as well as us as we try to walk through our days. Why? What does the Bible mean when it talks about wisdom? I think we experience wisdom as we train our mind to experience life through the filter of God’s truth. We know that we cannot understand the mind of God, His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. Still He has revealed Himself to us both through His word and through the person of Jesus Christ whom we also read about in the Bible. We are not born wise, the Bible teaches that we can grow in wisdom, but how? How do we gain wisdom?
Let’s start at the beginning. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
The fear of the Lord is where wisdom must start. This fear that the Bible is talking about has to do with an understanding of how AWESOME God is and how very broken we are. When we grasp the enormity of the difference in our brains verses that of the Lord’s, we trust what our eyes and ears are telling us less and trust what God says more. We cannot walk through life trusting God’s truth if we do not fear Him.
Secondly, we must have an honest desire to gain wisdom, in order to walk more closely with the Lord. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” We know from the Proverbs that wisdom is a treasure worth pursuing, worth seeking out and hunting for, but in His goodness, the Lord gives it to those who seek and ask to find it.
So, first humble yourself and admit you need His wisdom. Second, be willing to seek it out. Third, go to the source and spend time there reading, listening, and soaking it in. I know there are reading plans out there where you read through the Bible in a year and those are great! I’ve actually gone through one a couple of times. If you’ve only ever read just little bits and pieces of the scripture then you need to read the whole thing at least once. Ive heard a lot of conversation around reading through the entire scripture in a year that concerns how many minutes of your life you spend in the scripture. Like you spend this many hours sleeping and this many hours driving etc, so you can spend this many hours reading the Word. If you truly want to gain wisdom, you have to spend more than 5, 10, or 15 minutes alone with the Lord and His Word every day. But you don’t have to spend the entire time reading or make it through the whole thing in a year. You can also sit with just a few verses and spend a long time with the Lord.
In fact, I think to glean from the scriptures what we need in order to use God’s truth to filter through the struggles of this life, we MUST sit and meditate on just a few scriptures, not spend the entire time reading. You have got to take just a few verses at a time and ask the Lord how they apply to your life now. How can you flesh out belief in what those verses are telling you about the Lord? Is there something you are doing or something you are believing that stands in contrast to what the Bible has to say about Jesus?
Wisdom has the power to defeat the devil and allow us to walk in freedom. It helps us recognize the lies that surround us and threaten to destroy us. It changes our behavior and allows us to live in the promises of God. Finding security in who God is, is what brings true fulfillment and true joy.
Your Fellow Traveler
lacey
Find True Joy 