With my recent move, I also had the chance to move my many books with me. Last week, I had some of the young people at the new congregation move my boxes of books over to my office, and earlier this week, I took a little time to unpack them all. Now my shelves stare back at me, not empty and lifeless, but with many spines and smiles!
That got me thinking this afternoon. Just how much wisdom and knowledge is there out there in our world today? I remember reading somewhere that the amount of information that we humans uncover or have access to doubles about every 5 years or so in our information age. I truly believe that this is, in part, because God has created a unique world with a depth to it that we can never fully attain.
But I think this also shows us something significant. Knowledge is one thing. Wisdom is quite another. Think of it like this. Knowledge is knowing how something works. Wisdom is knowing why it works, and how it works best. Knowledge will only get you so far. Knowledge without wisdom can actually be deadly. Knowing how a gun works is one thing. Understanding that it's not intended to be pointed at people while loaded is completely different.
Of the many books on my shelves, all have great knowledge to impart. Some of them even have wisdom to impart for those wise enough to grasp it. And yet, even as I look at them, I recognize that everything they impart pales in comparison to another kind of wisdom and knowledge.
"Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight", says King Solomon in Proverbs 9:10. Earlier in that same book, he also asserts "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction". (Proverbs 1:7) Both wisdom and knowledge find their source and origin in the LORD. Knowledge comes from Him. Wisdom comes from Him. And in the end, He is the end point of all wisdom and knowledge.
Think about all the knowledge and wisdom you have obtained throughout your life. How does it find its source and origin in the LORD? How does it point to the LORD as its final end? After all, without that, it's all just foolishness and a chasing after the wind.
That got me thinking this afternoon. Just how much wisdom and knowledge is there out there in our world today? I remember reading somewhere that the amount of information that we humans uncover or have access to doubles about every 5 years or so in our information age. I truly believe that this is, in part, because God has created a unique world with a depth to it that we can never fully attain.
But I think this also shows us something significant. Knowledge is one thing. Wisdom is quite another. Think of it like this. Knowledge is knowing how something works. Wisdom is knowing why it works, and how it works best. Knowledge will only get you so far. Knowledge without wisdom can actually be deadly. Knowing how a gun works is one thing. Understanding that it's not intended to be pointed at people while loaded is completely different.
Of the many books on my shelves, all have great knowledge to impart. Some of them even have wisdom to impart for those wise enough to grasp it. And yet, even as I look at them, I recognize that everything they impart pales in comparison to another kind of wisdom and knowledge.
"Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight", says King Solomon in Proverbs 9:10. Earlier in that same book, he also asserts "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction". (Proverbs 1:7) Both wisdom and knowledge find their source and origin in the LORD. Knowledge comes from Him. Wisdom comes from Him. And in the end, He is the end point of all wisdom and knowledge.
Think about all the knowledge and wisdom you have obtained throughout your life. How does it find its source and origin in the LORD? How does it point to the LORD as its final end? After all, without that, it's all just foolishness and a chasing after the wind.
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