Wisdom

Psalm 111, Ephesians 5:15-20 

Verse 10 from our Psalm reading today says this: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  Wisdom comes from God - true wisdom, that is. The apostle Paul tells us in I Corinthians that the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. (3:19) This tells us that there is God’s wisdom, and there’s the world’s wisdom. They are not the same. Romans 12:2 says “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect.” We are not to think like the world thinks - but we are to transform our minds to line up with the will of God.

Throughout the Scriptures we see examples of the contrast between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom that comes from God. The Old Testament records how the Israelites repeatedly rejected God’s wise counsel and followed after the ways of the world. As I read and reflect upon these accounts, I can’t help but conclude that many of the people of Israel did not fear God - and Scripture records many instances of how God ended up judging them. Over and over again, Israel strayed from God, God disciplined them, then they came back to God, only to stray again - and the cycle continued. I Corinthians 10:11 tell us that “these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction.” Wisdom takes heed of instruction. As followers of Jesus Christ we are not to keep repeating the cycle of returning to foolishness and rebellion like the ancient Israelites did. There are so many things wrong with our world today - like many of the ancient Israelites, many people today do not fear God. In fact they totally ignore Him. As Christians, we must be careful that we do not fall into the trap of going along with the “wisdom” of the world. This “wisdom” has infiltrated just about every area of society.  We must make the effort to renew our minds and follow the wisdom of God.

Again, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” To fear the Lord does not mean to be afraid of Him - but rather, it means to respect, to be in awe of Him. I think we could agree that it is wise to obey God. Obedience to God is born out of respect for God - but it is also born out of love for God. Jesus said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. True wisdom begins with respect, awe, love and obedience to God - these things are foundational. You cannot possess true wisdom if you do not fear God.

So as followers of Jesus, we have the foundation for godly wisdom. But is that all we need? — The Bible tells us very little about Jesus’ childhood, but it does tell us that He “kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” If Jesus kept increasing in wisdom, so can we. His life is an example for us.

So how can we increase in wisdom? Through God’s word. You cannot gain God’s wisdom apart from knowing His word. It is through His word that we learn about God, His character, and His wisdom. It is through His word that we renew our minds. The Bible is a book of instruction - we are to learn from it. And we can’t do that if we don’t read it - and study it.

We also increase in wisdom through prayer. James 1:5 says “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” If we need guidance, direction, understanding about a certain situation in our lives - we are to pray and ask God for wisdom.

God is pleased when seek Him and the things of His kingdom - He wants us to grow in wisdom and understanding. We are to pursue wisdom - but you cannot separate true wisdom from its source, which is God. If we seek wisdom apart from God, we will inevitably follow the foolish wisdom of the world.  Our reading from Ephesians today speaks to this: “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise . . . do not be foolish, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” To be wise is to understand the will of God and to live accordingly. Again, Romans 12:2 “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God.” We renew our minds through the pursuit of God’s wisdom, and we are to live out our lives in that wisdom, living within the will of God.