“Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:7, NIV)
That’s the Bible’s verdict on wisdom. In fact, six different times in the Proverbs we’re told to get it…whatever the cost…and hold onto it for dear life.
We Christians take this to heart, so we start our quest for wisdom. The problem: we’re not really sure what it is. In our minds, wisdom is equated with knowledge. So we listen to sermons, take notes, attend Bible studies, read the latest Christian books and listen to the top preachers’ podcasts, all the while hoping to learn more about God.
But knowledge is not wisdom. They’re related, of course, but they aren’t the same thing. Knowledge is related to grasping concepts and facts. Wisdom is related to the application of knowledge. Let me illustrate: Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting a tomato in a fruit salad.
The Hebrew word for wisdom (hokmah) means “skill.” Wouldn’t you like to be skillful with money, with relationships, in your marriage, in business, with your parenting? Skill is different than knowledge. See the difference? It’s one thing to read a book about marriage…it is something completely different to skillfully navigate a relationship with your spouse. My wife probably couldn’t care less that I read the marriage book if I don’t put the useful information I learned into practice!
Comparatively speaking, wisdom is much harder to come by than knowledge. But wisdom IS attainable and God gives us plenty of it in his word. I hope you’ll join us over the next several weeks as we study some of the Bible’s “wisdom literature” together in the hopes that we might live “skillful” lives.
Let’s get wisdom!
