Seeking Wisdom

In difficult times in our lives it may be difficult to know where to turn as real wisdom is in short supply today. Too few people think deeply and equally few people have so saturated their thinking Biblically that godly wisdom emerges from them. When you find a wise person, that individual is a treasure. When we are able to provide wisdom to others we become a treasure and gift to them.

How should we recognize them?  Biblical wisdom is first of all grounded in "the fear of the Lord." It is an acknowledgement that God is above all and that the wise individual takes God into account in all of their thinking, actions, strategies and decisions. For the wise individual, God and the things that matter to God are central to everything!  Their longing is to glorify Him with the right decisions.

That means that wisdom is not simply pragmatism—the end justifies the means. A course of action can be pragmatic but not take into account God's view about the matter.  Wisdom is the ability to understand a situation and know how to respond to it in a way that would please God, demonstrate mercy, fairness and righteousness, and accomplish what God has mapped before us.

I have heard it said in a leadership book that, “It is wise people who are able to take complex issues and many moving parts and find a solution while keeping God's perspective or character in the center of the equation.”  To me, this would appear to be biblical wisdom.

Not all of us are given the gift of special wisdom.  However, all of us have access to people who God has gifted in that way. Where do we find them or get to know them in order to hear their perspective? We must pray and keep our ears open to them as we listen to those God has placed in our paths.  We must evaluate the current wisdom that we embrace and ask if it has been biblical and God-centered.  God tells us to begin and seek Him who gives wisdom freely (James 1:5).




(Note: Modified & taken from a former blog by Tim Addington)