A Word To The Wise

"Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?  How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?" Proverbs 1:20-22

 We've all likely heard that there is a difference between wisdom and knowledge.  It's very true.  Knowledge may be helpful, but wisdom comes in to show you the value of your knowledge, and gives a guide to help you understand what to do with that knowledge.

Last week, I blogged about how we may approach the Bible to gain more knowledge.  We can acquire quite a bit of knowledge about God, about His will and design, and other such matters, like salvation.  However, merely "knowing stuff" isn't necessarily the main point of us reading the Bible to gain knowledge.  That knowledge needs to have a grounding in real life, in what it means for us as the people of God.

That's where wisdom enters in.  Another reason we read the Bible is to gain wisdom for the living of life in this world.  And believe me, there is much wisdom in the Bible.  Knowing what it means to forgive someone is one thing.  Having the wisdom to understand and implement forgiveness into your relationships is a completely different thing.  Knowing that God desires for us to love our neighbors as ourselves is one thing.  Wisdom is found in growing and learning how you actually go about that, and reveals what it looks like, as well as what it doesn't look like.

So we read the Bible to know more, but we also read the Bible to learn the application of that knowledge.  And that is where wisdom enters in.  Wisdom connects the dots of knowledge and real life.  Wisdom applies what we learn from the Bible into our lives.  And you probably shouldn't be surprised to know that such wisdom and application is led mightily by the Holy Spirit, who comes to us in our interaction with the Bible.

I hope that, as you regularly engage God's Word, you don't do it merely to understand more of what God is saying, but that you also look to see how it applies to your life, and what it means for you.  Pray that God will give you wisdom by His Holy Spirit, and then, be ready to see how God may open your eyes to that wisdom and its application into your life.