In Praise Of Wisdom

What is wisdom? In the dictionary it is defined as “knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight, the quality or state of being wise;” So I go further what is wise? Having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right; possessing discernment, judgment, or discretion, characterized by or showing such power; judicious or prudent: a wise decision.

“”Having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right”” …. Wow! We are wise when we hit 16 aren’t we. Or at least we think we are wise. I know I have a 19 year old son and he believes he knows it all. He believes he is invincible and can escape anything, anywhere. Is he wise? I don’t think so.

My mother is 88 years old. She has seen many moons as the natives would say. Her years of experience and life have given her lines and wrinkles of wisdom beyond any other woman of lesser age. She has seen much pain and elation. But is she wise? I suppose so.

A mother who has a child with an emotional disorder or disease and has been diagnosed with further disorders of impaired communication and emotional detachment. The child is turning 16 on his next birthday …. Still maintains the educated and learnings of a 4 year old. Is this mother wise? I am sure she is.

A young teenage girl is invited to share in a case of beer with some friends and she opts out. Is this wisdom or common sense or fear?

Wisdom pokes its head out of the sand in a variety of ways. We can be so wise in some ways and so un-wise in others. Decision making depends on wisdom. How does one measure their wisdom? Who is wisest? Is there a university course that I can take that will make me a wisdom graduate? Can I secure a bachelor’s degree: Gerontology and Wisdom? Knowledge is not wisdom. My professor this week had a quote on the board … “Knowledge is the booby prize of life; a sense of mystery and awe is the big prize.” Dr. Fred Alan Wolfe – God is this mystery and awe ….

Wisdom is life’s lessons in reality. As I broke down the verses in Proverbs 8 and reviewed the content it made me think.

“Listen! Wisdom is calling out. Reason is making herself heard.” Wisdom calls to us daily. I know in my day to day reasoning I hear wisdom talking to me. But do I listen? Most recently, I had a love interest. A nice fellow who was interested in dating me. I don’t date much because I am so busy with school right now and my focus needs to be clear. Wisdom and reason was telling me not to go there but did I listen? No, I heard my heart and let my heart rule. No good can come of that, and it didn’t. As I talked about last week our spirit is our guide. The Holy Spirit that God has placed in our centre, to guide and lead us along. The spirit talks to us and we need to listen. It is our wisdom. The heart, the mind, and the soul can act on their own behalf but usually are not good decision makers. It is the wisdom of our spirit that is God’s voice inside of us.

“On the hilltops near the road… at the crossroads … at the entrance to the city … beside the gates….” Wisdom is all around us, so why do we ignore it? Wisdom can be a hard pill to swallow. We as people hear the voice of wisdom, if we listen it speaks very clearly to us. Wisdom can guide us and direct us but we think we know better so ignore the voice and go our own way. This is when God cries, as God is Wisdom. Wisdom is the spirit telling us our journey and as much as we realize this, we still maintain we know the way. Making poor choices; speaking out in anger; material desires; earthly wishes; greed; distorted view of “riches”.

We have a study group at St. Andrew’s in Coldwater. It is a series of DVD’s produced by Rob Bell, the founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in the US ~~ his forward thinking theology and practices are inviting. The DVD’s are about 16 minutes in duration and give food for thought and provoke discussion. This week we watched “Rich” and Rob talks about how we take for granted our “rich” life. He reminds us that this distorted view of “rich” is not healthy and how God talks to us through the bible to remember where the richness lies. It lies in wisdom and choices in God.