Gaining wisdom is an elusive pursuit. Some people seem to have it spades while others don’t. We sometimes talk of ‘the wisdom of years’ and that is true. The more mistakes we have made in life, the wiser we will be (hopefully). In many cultures, older people are respected for the wisdom (read: experience) they have gained over the course of their lives.
Life’s ups and downs can be good teachers if we are alert to their lessons. American professor Randy Pausch famously observed: “Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.” Thankfully, many gifted people write down their life’s experiences into books from which we can gain a lot without going through the pain.
The Bible was probably the first printed book to do so. There is a whole section of books known as ‘Wisdom literature’ in the collection of 66 books that make up the Bible. Among them are ones you may have heard of: Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs and the Psalms.
King Solomon famously asked God for wisdom, not wealth or success, when he became king and God granted his request. In Kings 3:12, God replies: “I will give you a wise and discerning heart.” It wasn’t long until Solomon had to apply his God-given wisdom to the test when faced with a dispute about custody of a child.
Wisdom, however, is not the same as intelligence. There are many highly intelligent people who lack wisdom; just look at the things some otherwise smart people post on social media!
That begs the question: “What is wisdom and how does one get it?”
The Bible tells us that wisdom is actually a person. Wisdom was personified when God took on flesh and became a human. We’ve recently celebrated the Christmas miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ. In him, all the wisdom, knowledge, grace and love of God came together in a form accessible to us humans.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome and declared that Jesus is: “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
Few people doubt the wisdom of Jesus’s words. The famous ‘Sermon on the mount’ in Matthew’s Gospel reaches lofty heights and yet it also challenges us to do better. That’s a tall order on our own but, by the miracle of the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit, we have access to the wisdom of God, who leads and guides us into all truth while giving us strength to serve others with selfless love.
The epigraph of Henry Handel Richardson’s book The Getting of Wisdom quotes a Biblical proverb, which reads: Wisdom is supreme — so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding. Proverbs, 4:7.
My church will embark on a project during March. We are going to read a chapter of the Book of Proverbs each day. There are 31 chapters and 31 days to read them in. Why not do that too and ask God to show you the wisdom found in following Jesus Christ, who is wisdom personified?
You can read the Bible or listen to it online. If you would like a free copy, ask your local Christian church.
Reverend Phil Zamagias,
Christ Church Anglican, Echuca
16°C