It turns out that today’s “Wisdom Wednesday” post is found in the next installment of James…
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.
Finding Wisdom
What good is wisdom? What does it buy you? How is a person with this thing called “wisdom” any better off than the next one who has none? What is wisdom anyway?
One dictionary defines wisdom as “good judgment,” and a “soundness of action or decision.” Maybe another way to put it is this: How well do the choices you make work out? I’m not going to sit here at my keyboard and pretend that I am wise. I have my moments, but some of my choices are not that good. It was worse when I was younger. Some of my choices then were very bad indeed.
It is easy to tell if a choice was “good” or “bad” by the outcome. How do you feel about it? How did it work out? Did it go as planned or hoped for? Were there unforeseen consequences? Did anybody get hurt?
We all make many decisions each day. How many of our decisions are good ones and how many are bad. Wisdom is where your decisions work out well and have good outcomes. Folly is when decisions lead to bad outcomes. The trick, as we discussed yesterday, is using the right measuring stick. If we use God’s measuring stick, the outcomes might look bad to earthbound eyes but in fact, be good. If we use the world’s measuring stick we will have to look at a different outcome to be considered a success.
Application: Let’s return to 2 Peter 1: 3-4 and get the ”knowledge of him” who allows us to take part in ”the divine nature.” Escaping the ”corruption of the world caused by evil desires” sounds like wisdom to me.
Food for Thought: How do you know if God has given you wisdom?
I think our wisdom will align with truth as revealed in God’s word and comes by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2: 6 – 16).
Rich,
What a beautiful passage!
“What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.”
Wisdom is both beyond us and at the same time given freely to us by our Creator.
Good point, Rich. That captures it. My view of wisdom is in line with Jeff’s thinking. As with meekness and humility, once I think I have wisdom (that I have “arrived “), I need to return to the basics and seek God’s strength and his forgiveness for my pride.
JEC,
Thanks, as always, for checking in and sharing your thoughts! It is interesting that you mention the challenge of feeling like one has “arrived.” I know what you mean and have experienced it myself. As things stand now, I do not worry about it any more because I have come to believe that as long as we are living in this world we are subject to the “body of death” that Paul writes about in Romans 7: 24. (NRSV) As Christians our existance is an interesting conundrum: we are constantly subject to Satan’s attacks yet we have the Spirit of God in us and enjoy his protection. Aware of that, I try and be mindful that we never really “arrive” until we pass into the next life.