4.24.20 - Where's Wisdom?
Where does wisdom come from? Well, some say it comes from a visit to your local Asian restaurant where they hand you a tasty after-dinner cookie that holds a paper with magical words on it. Some say it comes from a vacation where you take a vow of silence and listen to what the ocean waves and the earth have to say to you. Others say you can find it by sitting at the feet of a person who has lived more years than you thought possible. I hate to burst these bubbles, but any method of wisdom finding will be fruitless, unless you start the search with God.
Read Job 28:28. Job was a man who had seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, but he knew that wisdom couldn't be found in the things of this world. He told his friends that the source of all wisdom was found following two basic principles. First, he told them that an accurate view of God and His greatness would make them wise. Second, wisdom came from avoiding evil. If they wanted to gain understanding, they had to distance themselves from fools. Wisdom wasn't about finding the answers to the whys of life, it was about a deeper understanding of who their God was and who He was not.
What does living a wise life look like for a believer? Well, Job would say it comes through having a relationship with God. It looks like getting to know who God is, through His word, through prayer and through walking daily with Him. It also means living in a way that contrasts the world around us because a follower of Christ lives for others, but not for others' approval. If we want to search for wisdom, we should look no further than our God. He is where wisdom is found.
Questions for Reflection
According to Job, how does a person become wise?
What things in your life point you toward wisdom? What things pull you away from it?
Ephesians 5:15-16 says, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil." Given our circumstances, how can you enact Paul's words and live wisely "making the best use" of this unique time we have?