The Fountain of Smart
How To Get Wisdom
5/19/04
I. Introduction
Sometimes it takes a child to reveal lasting wisdom.
For example:
· Patrick, age 10, said, “Never trust a dog to watch your food.”
· Michael, 14, said, “When your dad is mad and asks you, "Do I look stupid?" don’t answer him.”
· Michael, wise man that he was also said, “Never tell your mom her diet’s not working.”
· Randy, 9 years of age said, “Stay away from prunes.” One wonders how he discovered that bit of wisdom.
· Kyoyo, age 9, said, “Never hold a dust buster and a cat at the same time.”
· Naomi, 15 said, “If you want a kitten, start out by asking for a horse.”
· Lauren, age 9 said, “Felt markers are not good to use as lipstick.”
· Joel, 10 years old, said, “Don’t pick on your sister when she’s holding a baseball bat.” And
· Eileen, age 8 said, “Never try to baptize a cat.”
You may have heard a few things about wisdom that aren’t necessarily true. For instance, “You have to have grey hair to be wise” or “Wisdom comes with age and experience.”
Well, tonight, I want to show you that wisdom can be yours and you don’t have to be old to be wise. We’re talking about “The Fountain of Smart: How To Get Wisdom.” There’s a bumper sticker that says, “We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart?” Well, I thought that tonight we’d combine youth with smart and we’ll all leave here on a quest for wisdom. First of all, what is wisdom?
II. Wisdom Is The Thing
Wisdom – the faculty of making the use of knowledge, a combination of discernment, judgment, sagacity, and similar powers. In Scripture, right judgment concerning spiritual and moral truth.
Proverbs 4:7 MSG “7Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom!
Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding!”
If knowledge is the accumulation of facts, and intelligence the development of reason, wisdom is heavenly discernment. It is insight into the heart of things. Wisdom involves knowing God and the subtleties of the human heart. More than knowledge, it is the right application of knowledge.
Wisdom is about making the right decision every time.
How would you like the ability to make the right decision every time?
How about the right decision about college, roommates, extracurricular activities? Should I go out for the football team or run cross-country? Should I buy this soda at the gas station or wait until I get home? Should I go out on a date with this person or should I turn him/her down?
It would be awesome if you could make the right decision, the best decision for you, every single time you had to decide something, wouldn’t it?
Unfortunately, sometimes we make the wrong decisions.
III. Whoops
How many of you have ever made a bad decision?
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Hindsight is always 20-20”?
“Wisdom is nine-tenths a matter of being wise in time. Most of us are too often wise after the event.” – Theodore Roosevelt
It’s so true that after you’ve made a decision and have experienced the consequences of that decision, you can immediately recognize whether it was a good decision or not. That’s what President Roosevelt was talking about when he said that most of us are too often wise AFTER the event.
My brother and I used to talk about these times in our lives that we’ve labeled the “What Was I Thinking Moments.” These are the times where we were so blinded by feelings, or peer pressure, or what people thought about us, that we based our decisions on everything but sound judgment. We would look back in disgust at girls we dated or liked. We would remember with regret a decision we made to go to such and such a party. We would replay with hesitation a decision made in haste. That’s the point when we say, “Well, I should’ve did this or I should’ve did that.” But wouldn’t you like to life your life with no regrets, no “should’ve” moments, no questioning your decisions?
If you get wisdom, you can!
A young man applied for a job as a farmhand. When asked for his qualifications, he said, "I can sleep when the wind blows." This puzzled the farmer, but he took a liking to the young man and hired him. A few days later, the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night by a violent storm. They quickly began to check things out to see if all was secure. They found that the shutters of the farmhouse had been securely fastened. A good supply of logs had been set next to the fireplace. The farm implements had been placed in the storage shed, safe from the elements. The tractor had been moved into the garage. The barn had been properly locked. All was well. Even the animals were calm. It was then that the farmer grasped the meaning of the young man’s words, "I can sleep when the wind blows." Because the farmhand had the wisdom to do his work well when the skies were clear, he was prepared for the storm when it broke. Consequently, when the wind blew, he had no fear. He was able to sleep in peace.
Now, here’s a man who had wisdom. There was no questioning himself. When it was time to decide whether or not to secure the shutters or move the tractor, he made the right decision. And you can make the right decisions, too, if you get wisdom.
IV. The Warehouse of Wisdom
Well, by now, if you haven’t decided that you want some wisdom and need some wisdom, you’ll never get any. But if you’ve decided that you want it, you’ve already got a little wisdom, because it’s wise to want wisdom.
So, how do you get it?
1. The first thing you do to get wisdom is ASK!
James 1:5 NLT “5If you need wisdom--if you want to know what God wants you to do--ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.”
The Bible promises that if you ask God for wisdom, He’ll give it to you. It’s as simple as that. But after you ask, you have to be on the lookout for it.
2. Learn From Others
A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Nobody lives long enough to make them all himself.
When you hear people telling you about their mistakes, listen closely to see where they missed it. That way, if you’re ever in the same situation, you’ll know what not to do.
You can learn from others whether they’ve made mistakes or not. You do that by asking questions. Science is simply the art of asking lots of questions and searching for the answer. When you are around people who know more than you, ask them lots of questions. Then, shut up and listen.
3. Be Teachable
Someone once said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” Some people limit their potential because they have an unteachable spirit. There isn’t anyone that knows everything—except God (and last time I checked, you weren’t Him). That means there’s more for you to learn.
4. Have Passion
Great learners are passionate to grow. One time a student of philosophy asked his teacher how he could become a man of great wisdom. The teacher said, “Follow me and I will show you.” The teacher waded into the ocean and the student followed him. The wise teacher then held his young pupil under water until the student began to kick and fight his way to the surface. The student gasping for air asked, “What did you do that for?” The wise teacher replied, “When you want wisdom as much as you wanted air, you will find it.”
How bad do you want it? It’s been my experience that if you want something bad enough, and you have a desire to do whatever it takes to get it, you’ll get it.
5. A Proverb a Day Brings Wisdom Your Way
At breakfast each morning, read one chapter of Proverbs. Find one Scripture in the chapter you read that really stands out to you. Write it down on a piece of paper or a 3x5 index card and carry it with you wherever you go. Whenever you hit slow times in your day, such as being stuck in traffic, pull out the card and meditate on your Scripture.
6. Look Around
Wisdom and prudence go hand in hand. One of the meanings for prudence is circumspection, which literally means to look around, being careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences. So, in order to walk in wisdom, you have to look around and evaluate every option, and then walk out that decision to consider the consequences. Every choice you make will come with a consequence, and that consequence may be good or it may be bad, all depending on the decision you make.
What would happen if one of your friends at school were to offer you marijuana? You have plenty of options here: say yes and smoke it, say no and don’t smoke it, tell an authority figure and get your friend thrown in juvey, beat your friend up for being stupid, say yes and take the marijuana and flush it down the toilet. And each of those choices has a different consequence or will lead to a different outcome. So, you have to play it out in your mind and decide which consequence you want to live with.
Say yes and smoke it: you become addicted to marijuana and start selling it to support your habit
Say no and don’t smoke it: you defeated temptation, but lost your “friend”
Tell an authority figure: your friend was thrown in juvey and convinced his posse to gang you
Beat your friend up: you get suspended for fighting and your parents ground you
Say yes and flush it: on your way to the bathroom, Dr. Smith stops you and catches you with the MJ, you get thrown in juvey and form your own posse
So, circumspection – weigh all the options, look around.
And that works with every choice you make, whether it’s choosing a candy bar at the gas station or buying your first house.
7. Read, Read, Read
We have public libraries, bookstores on every corner and self-help programs. Find books that will help you grow in your areas of interests and read, read, read.
8. Be Led by the Spirit
John 14:26 NKJV “26But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
The Holy Spirit can’t teach you all things unless he knows all things, right? Well, then, wouldn’t it make sense that he would know the best decision for you to make in any given situation? That’s right. So, when you’re faced with a choice that would require some wisdom, and you don’t seem to know the best thing for you at that particular moment in time, it’s best to be led by the Spirit. Begin praying and ask God to tell you what to do in that situation. Pray in the Spirit, pray in tongues and expect the Holy Spirit to give you a peace about what to do.
A lot of times we take it upon ourselves to make the small decisions that may seem easy to us, while we pray to God and request His help for the larger ones that seem overbearing. “God, I can decide for myself which classes I should take next year, but when it comes to passing those classes I need your help.” “God, I can choose what’s best for me when it comes to relationships, but when it’s time to get serious about a marriage partner, I need your help.”
It’s time to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in every area of our lives, whether we see them as big or small, important or insignificant. It matters not how we see our decisions, it only matters that the Holy Spirit knows the answer and if we exercise wisdom, we’ll allow him to help in every decision that we make.
So, 8 Ways to Get Wisdom, what are they?
1. Ask
2. Learn from Others
3. Be Teachable
4. Have Passion
5. A Proverb a Day Brings Wisdom Your Way
6. Look Around
7. Read, Read, Read
8. Be Led by the Holy Spirit
Let’s pray.
