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Wisdom and YOU

Wisdom and YOU

Proverbs 3 13 14

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.

Proverbs 3: 13-14

Who doesn’t want wisdom and understanding?

Einstein said, “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”

Lao Tse wrote, “To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.”

Finally, Kant shared, “Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.”

We move onto understanding.

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”

Carl Jung

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”

Galileo Galilei

“Furious activity is no substitute for understanding.”

H.H Williams

What is wisdom?

Luckily, we have John Piper who put it succinctly for us, “The greatest human wisdom is the factual knowledge and the situational insight and the necessary resolve that together have the greatest likelihood of success in achieving the intended, righteous goal.”

He goes on to say, “So, wisdom always combines (1) general knowledge of the facts about reality with (2) the more specific and the immediate discernment, or insight, or intuition into the less perceptible, but crucial, dynamics of the situation, with (3) the necessary resolve to act on that knowledge and that insight.”

The key difference is that knowledge is something that we gain either by doing, learning/thinking, and acquiring. Wisdom is discernment. Knowing the difference between right/wrong, true/false, and lasting/fleeting. You can have knowledge without wisdom but you can’t have wisdom without knowledge.

According to Psychology Today, “Wisdom encompasses cognitive components, such as knowledge and experience, reflective components, or the ability to examine situations and oneself, and prosocial components, meaning benevolence and compassion. Wisdom is also connected to abilities such as perspective-taking, open-mindedness, and intellectual humility.”

What would you rather have, the ability to do something, or the ability to know what to do?

What does finding wisdom actually mean?

In Hebrew, the word for find is masa, one of its many definitions is “burden”. It also means “journey”. Isn’t that interesting? We have a burden to go on a journey to find wisdom. So not only do we gain by finding wisdom, but we need to find wisdom and if we revisit the quotes above there is a huge congruence there. Finding wisdom is not a gun and done thing, it is a lifelong quest. It takes time, patience, and diligence.

How do we find wisdom?

It is a gift given by God freely and copiously. James 1:5 reads, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” The key is for us to prize it, pursue it, and recognize it.

How can we develop or pursue wisdom?

  1. Listen, be an active listener and always be in the moment.
  2. Develop the skill of asking a better question. Surface questions get surface answers. By digging deeper, working harder, and being more persistent. You will find the better question, get the better answer, and attain wisdom.
  3. How often do you take the time to review, rehash, and dissect what just happened and find out the nuggets that are waiting to be learned from an activity? One that was successful or one that failed. You need to repeat success and correct failure.
  4. Spend time with wise people and absorb their wisdom.
  5. Accept criticism for what it is worth – a way to improve, learn, and gain wisdom. Only if the criticism comes from a place of honesty, sincerity, and is to build you up not tear you down.
  6. Learn to know when to stand up or stand down. You must pick your battles, but that means you need to be willing to engage if you need to.
  7. Makes mistakes – think, plan, do, review.
  8. Live by the Golden Rule, live with compassion, honesty, and sincerity.
  9. Believe in yourself – you are good, you do make a difference, and you can do it.
  10. It may seem trite, but life is a journey, one step at a time, enjoying or learning from each moment, and is to be lived!

 

Chuck Groot is an author, speaker, teacher. His love of God has spanned over 6 decades and he finds the more he studies the Bible, the less he knows, the more he succeeds the more dependant on God he becomes, and that there is nothing outside of loving God our Father, and being loved in return.

 

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Bibliography

Edberg, H. (2020, May 15). 14 Inspirational Quotes on Understanding. Retrieved from The Positivity Blog: https://www.positivityblog.com/14-inspirational-quotes-on-understanding/#:~:text=Everything%20that%20irritates%20us%20about,to%20an%20understanding%20of%20ourselves.&text=Any%20fool%20can%20criticize%2C%20condemn,to%20be%20understanding%20and%20forgiving.

Habasar. (2015, December 7). Word Study in the Hebrew: NaSA, MaSA, MaSHeL & MaSHaL. Retrieved from habasar: https://habasar.wordpress.com/2015/12/07/word-study-in-the-hebrew-nasa-masa-mashel-mashal/

Inflection of מַסָּע. (2021, March 7). Retrieved from pealim: https://www.pealim.com/dict/3130-masa/

Kay, O. (2019, August 17). 5 Tips To Increase Wisdom. Retrieved from Moosh Walks: https://mooshwalks.com/blogs/news/5-tips-to-increase-wisdom#:~:text=Wisdom%20is%20a%20virtue%20that,can%20become%20a%20wiser%20person.

Knowledge Wisdom Quotes. (2021, March 7). Retrieved from Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/knowledge-wisdom

PhD, M. A. (2019, May 2). What Is Wisdom? (and How to Get It). Retrieved from Bibel Study Tools: https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-is-wisdom-and-how-to-get-it.html

Piper, J. (2018, April 20). How to Get Wisdom. Retrieved from Desiring God: https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/how-to-get-wisdom

Seven Ways to Acquire Wisdom. (2021, March 14). Retrieved from Bible in one year: https://bibleinoneyear.org/bioy/commentary/2137

What is the difference between wisdom and knowledge? (2021, March 14). Retrieved from Got questions: https://www.gotquestions.org/wisdom-knowledge.html

Wisdom. (2021, March 14). Retrieved from Psychology today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/basics/wisdom