Wisdom: The Pressing Need of our Day
The School of Athens is a famous fresco painted by Raphael (1509-1511)
The problem
Our world is complex, and it only seems to be getting more complex by the moment. By and large we live in much more elaborate societies than we used to. Governments, cities, and technologies are vastly more sophisticated than they were even a few decades ago. There is a seemingly infinite diversity of sources of news, entertainment, physical products, philosophies, and so on that the average human being is aware of at any given moment. We are truly drowning in data and overwhelmed by the amount of options available to us. How do we navigate with a map that seems to be shifting from moment to moment? The intensity of the problem has certainly increased, but the basic question is an ancient one. In a world full of choices, how do you make the right one?
The solution
The ancient world would have been practically unanimous in reply. Wisdom. To navigate a complex world and a complex life you need wisdom. The Bible shares a similar perspective but locates wisdom in the larger universe of the Creator God who called Abraham and made a covenant with Israel. The first step on the road to wisdom is acknowledging this God and living life in light of Him. But backing up a step, we need to ask what is wisdom in the first place? According to the Bible, it’s knowledge but it’s also more. Accumulating knowledge is a part of gaining wisdom but acting justly is the true test of the wise. So, it’s knowledge and action brought together. In other words, wisdom is the ability to see things for what they are and then act accordingly.
The world is foggy and mysterious for those without wisdom, but the wise discern things for what they are. They see clearly enough to avoid danger and walk the sure path. They aren’t fooled by how things seem to be, instead they perceive what is and they do what is right in a given situation. It’s the variety of situations that pose the real challenge. The wise take every opportunity to learn and adapt knowledge for a good outcome. They aren’t so much following a script or a system; they’re reading situations and acting in appropriate ways. This is why seemingly contradictory advice can be offered and the wise can profit from it. For example, Proverbs 26:4–5 says, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.” So, which is it? Do you answer a fool according to his folly or do you not? The answer is: it depends. Sometimes you shouldn’t answer a fool according to his folly and sometimes you should. Wisdom will teach you the difference. The wise have developed the knack through reflection and practice to often make the right call. In essence wisdom makes you good at life, good at living well.
Where can wisdom be found?
Wisdom is precious. Not everyone has it, and in order to find it you have to search, you have to pursue it. While finding wisdom isn’t a given, there are some tried and true places to search. There are at least four wells of wisdom; observing fools, listening to the wise, contemplating creation, and obeying God’s Word.
Starting from the least reliable and moving toward the surest source wisdom, a paradoxical but consistent source of wisdom for the wise is the fool. Fools are short sighted. They don’t see clearly and as a result they live poorly. They may live well for a while, but in the long-term disaster often befalls them. You can learn a lot from observing the fool. Impulsiveness, self-indulgence, constant lying, laziness, pride, hatred and violence are all calling cards of the fool. Each vice bears within it the seeds of the fool’s destruction. A fool eventually self-destructs, because his folly catches up with him. The fool’s biggest problem, though, is that he doesn’t recognize the value of wisdom. Money, power, fame and sex all look like better pursuits for the fool than wisdom. He doesn’t know that wisdom is more valuable than gold, so he ignores knowledge and good advice and leads a contemptible life. The wise learn lessons from fools that fools refuse to learn. A wise person sees the outcome of a fool’s life and rejects the choices that lead the fool there. The irony is the wise constantly grow in wisdom while the true fool only grows more foolish.
There are many ways in which western culture has become one that exults fools or at least encourages foolishness. We have a celebrity culture where fame, power, wealth, and hyper self-focus coalesce. People don’t become celebrities so much because of their achievements but because of their desire to be celebrities. They wanted to be famous, and they did all they could to make it happen. Their lives are presented as what the rest of us should aspire to. However, it seems to be a group of people rife with feuds, divorce, addictions, and any number of tragedies. This isn’t to suggest that every celebrity is bad or evil, but to say that the category itself and the culture it produces fall comfortably into the Biblical classification of foolishness. They may be living their best lives now, but spectacular downfalls seem to disproportionately affect them. Wisdom says, better to live a quiet life, happy with what you have, instead of striving for fame and fortune.
The wise person observes the fool, but he or she listens to the counsel of the wise. Wise people seek out the wisdom of those who already possess it. Proverbs 11:14 says, “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers.” Wise people grow wiser because they are open to advice. It doesn’t mean that they do what everyone says, but they are open to input and they weigh it all carefully. In the book 1 Kings Solomon’s son Rehoboam made the mistake of choosing the wrong counselors and it cost him half his kingdom. Instead of listening to the older men who were advising that he ease the people’s burden after the people came to him and complained about their lot under Solomon, Rehoboam listened to his friends, those he had grown up with, and decided to act tough. The majority of the twelve tribes of Israel rejected him as king, and he was left with a fraction of what his father had ruled. He made a crucial error by not heeding good advice. Rehoboam didn’t listen to those who were older and more experienced. These were people poised to have insight into the reign of his father, and who would have had a better grasp on the history of the problem. The wise are always on the lookout for good advice, which often means dissenting opinions. It doesn’t take much to listen to those who agree with you, but the wise make a point of gathering contrary perspectives. It helps them consider multiple courses of action, which gives greater likelihood to the possibility that the right course of action is taken. To be wise you have to talk to people you disagree with. It doesn’t mean you have to accept their conclusions, but without counter input you are only looking for people to validate your agenda. The temptation is to always just seek out those who agree with us, but there is a lot of wisdom to be found among those who think differently. We should do this with real people, but it goes for our digital lives as well. Don’t just consume media that confirms your bias. Read counter arguments and different perspectives. Once again, you don’t have to agree, but you’ll be wiser because of it.
God’s World
The third source of wisdom comes through observing the world that God has made. To the discerning creation is full of lessons that can guide the wise. Psalm 19:1–4 is one example of this deeply biblical idea. It says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” The heavens give us insight into one of the most important areas of wisdom, which is God himself. They teach us by analogy about His greatness, power, and understanding. Creation has further lessons as well. It isn’t just the skies; plants, animals, weather, and all manner of natural phenomena can teach wisdom. For instance, insects can instruct us. Proverbs 6:6–8 says, “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”
Science, then, is a friend to the wise. Exploring the puzzles of God’s world helps the wise person live better in His world. Biology, physics, psychology, and all the rest are rich resources of wisdom. The distinction for the wise is that these fields aren’t ends in and of themselves; they are studies of God’s world. Without the fear of the Lord, we only have a semblance of wisdom, not the real thing. The wise aren’t afraid of science, because they know it is a tool. But they put science in its proper place within a world created by a sovereign God. Therefore, creation has much to teach the wise, because they know the Creator and marvel at Him through His creation.
God’s Word
The most reliable and pure fountain of wisdom is God’s word. Psalm 110:5 says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Both the Psalms and Proverbs call the fear of God the beginning of wisdom, and Paul calls Christ the wisdom of God. The Bible gives us the larger story of God, creation, and humanity, which helps us locate our position in the midst of a complicated world. Everything we could imagine falls somewhere in this grand narrative, and it puts borders around it. The world may be complicated, but God’s word maps much of it for us. For instance, it gives us insight into human nature. It establishes all that is and all that ever will be as firmly under the sovereignty of God. It gives history, despite its complexity, a discernible arc. Our final destination is a world remade and redeemed by God, where evil is dealt with, death is destroyed, and God is all in all. In and through all this Scripture teaches us how to live in light of the world God has made. Faith, hope, and love, despite experiencing the turbulence of the present age, are ultimately in harmony with the universe as God intended it and are the marks of the age to come. Our obedience to God’s word reflects the fact that we have decided to live in the world as God meant it, which is the ultimate mark of wisdom.
While the Bible’s grand story gives us a map for navigating life wisely, it also gives us a guide on the way in Jesus, God’s wisdom made man. In Jesus, God’s wisdom is on full display. His teaching, miracles, life, death and resurrection are the evidence of a life well lived, a life given over completely in obedience to God. To place our faith in him and imitate him is to find the true road to wisdom with a sure guide. The more we imitate Jesus and pattern our lives off of his, the more we enter into life as God meant it. What’s more, not only do we have Jesus to imitate, once we place our trust in him we get the Spirit as well, the one who leads us into all truth. We have the fountain and source of all wisdom dwelling within us. This doesn’t mean instant perfection. There is some mysterious way that we avail ourselves to the Spirit; walking in step with him, as Paul puts it. The Spirit forms us in wisdom as we model ourselves after Jesus. The Spirit is like a homing beacon for wisdom. If we listen, the Spirit is constantly teaching, constantly pulling us toward Jesus and bringing God’s word to bear on our hearts.
Wisdom should mark us as Christians. We should drip with it even as we seek it like gold. If we commit to pursuing it and to living lives that exemplify wisdom, the world around us will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people” (Dt 4:6). They’ll see our deeds, watch our lives, and glorify our Father in Heaven (Mt 5:16). Our wisdom will speak to the greatness of our God and the truth of his word.