Christians need wisdom!

In this post I plan to tackle a subtle, but important point relevant to Christian living. Specifically, what role does wisdom have in our lives? How do we make decisions? Should we be worried about the “wisdom of the world”? As with many of my posts, my motivation for writing here comes from personal experience. I have run into too many Christians who act and speak foolishly and who refuse to learn, who are so afraid of “the wisdom of man” that they dive into folly. Even worse, I've observed “shepherds” who seem to encourage this fear of wisdom to keep the sheep in line. It's hard to describe in detail all the ways in which this thinking has weakened Christians. Let me start by using a fictional (but all too familiar) story to illustrate my point.

Hank is a bright high school senior. With graduation coming up, he's trying to decide what to do with his life. Hank was saved about a year ago and genuinely wants to please the Lord in everything. Hank has always loved working on cars, and there aren't any good mechanics in his town, so he's looking to become a mechanic. One day Hank discusses his future with his pastor, who warns him that although according to the wisdom of the world, becoming a mechanic would make sense, he should pray a lot about it, “lean not on your own understanding...and who knows, you might even be called to preach”. Hank agrees to do some serious prayer, but doesn't initially think that he'd ever be a pastor. Sure, he has grown spiritually by leaps and bounds since his salvation, but he has never considered being a pastor himself.

Over the next few weeks, Hanks prays much about his career choice. With consistent nudging and whispering from people around him, Hank starts to believe that these things are an answer to his prayer, that God is telling him to go into ministry. Hank has heard that you need a 'calling' to be a pastor, so this must be it. He doesn't know why, he just feels it emotionally (it's not hard to get those feelings when several men you respect are nudging you along with your ego). Hank goes on to seminary (which is, ironically, modeled after the world's education system.) and graduates with no job in ministry, despite a lot of looking. Hank is sure this must be a trial from the Lord. He struggles financially for years, working whatever job he can to make ends meet. Finally, he finds a job as an assistant pastor, then graduates to a full pastorate where he teaches other young men to make decisions in the same way that he did so many years ago.

Making decisions with wisdom

I've written already on the problems with the seminary system and modern church polity, so in this story I'd like to focus on the way decisions are made, and again, this question of wisdom. This story illustrates how, in most churches, the decision-making process has been hyper-spiritualized and feelings/nudges/promptings are held as the authority above common reasoning. I'm not saying that the Lord doesn't direct us, but that he directs us unequivocally. Most of the time this direction takes the form of wisdom. As James says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). This doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit will immediately make you smart, but in my experience, this typically occurs by the Holy Spirit bringing passages to mind.

And how are we to make decisions? Not looking for nudges, promptings and feelings, but with wisdom that is informed by Scripture! “The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit” (Prov. 14:8) and again, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105) We are supposed to understand our path and scripture is intended to be a guide for us. If your path is darkened, it may be because you have neglected your lamp. “But what about decisions related to your job, relationships, etc. You know, stuff the Bible doesn't talk about?” Are you kidding? The Bible addresses every area of life! Of course, it doesn't cover everything in complete detail, but provides enough direction that you can use a little wisdom and apply the instructions to any situation. Herein lies the problem: many Christians lack the wisdom to apply Biblical admonitions to real-world situations.

This wisdom does not come by osmosis or a half-hearted search. “Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.” In other words, don't expect to be wise if you're just doing your 'daily bread' devotionals. If you want wisdom, you must separate yourself from distractions and intentionally seek it as a pattern of life. The first step is to really desire wisdom, to value it above any money or treasure. This is easy once you realize how important it is. A foolish servant is of no use to his master, but can actually be a burden. How can a man without understanding please the Lord? Also notice that the call to wisdom in Proverbs is intended for all men, not just some special class (Prov. 1:20-24). In other words, if you're a Christian, you should be doing this, not relying on your 'clergy' to carry you. There are 2 books of the Bible specifically devoted to the topic and it is discussed in many other books as well, so I can guarantee it's important!

How do I avoid 'the wisdom of man'?

What about this matter of man's wisdom? We see in the first three chapters of 1 Corinth. That we are not to rest in the wisdom of the world. So, what exactly is 'good' wisdom and what is 'bad'? There are only a handful of passages that make a distinction about wisdom – either God's or man's, but from what I can tell, it seems that when the distinction is made, the Bible is talking about wisdom informed by a particular worldview. For example, in Prov. 23:4 laboring to get rich is identified as man's wisdom. Well, if you had a naturalist/materialist worldview...then laboring to get rich would make sense for maximizing your enjoyment in this life, it'd be wise. With a Christian worldview, we realize that trying to get rich is a bad goal, that we should lay up treasure in heaven and use our wealth to further the gospel, not to spend on our lusts. Not only does Scripture tell us this, but it just makes sense once you have the Christian worldview. Taking this perspective, the first few chapters of 1 Corinth. are easy to reconcile with the rest of Scripture. The “wisdom of man” is not a boogeyman that will bite the Christian who studies too hard, but it is the result of trying to obtain wisdom by starting from a worldview that rejects God.

Let's drive the point home by looking at some other passages. In 1 Corinth. 1:17-31 Paul blasts the wisdom of the world and says that God has chosen to work through foolishness, but is careful to point out that these things aren't actually foolish, but only seem so to the world (ie a person with a worldview that rejects God). We see this in v.34-35.

What about Proverbs 3:5-7? This verse is often used to support the idea that we should not use our own wisdom when making a decision. However, that idea contradicts the rest of the book. Instead, this passage is better understood as an admonition for the student of wisdom to have a Bibilical worldview. Of course I'm paraphrasing here, but read the passage both ways and you'll see what I mean.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I have shown that wisdom is critically important for Christians. A lack or misunderstanding of wisdom is most dangerously shown in the hyper-spiritualization of otherwise obvious decisions. This corruption of the decision making process leaves Christians vulnerable to poor life choices and false doctrines that are emotionally satisfying. I've also explained the difference between the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God, showing that a Christian grounded in a Biblical worldview can give themselves to a search for understanding and wisdom without fear of somehow mysteriously being infected with the 'wisdom of man'. Therefore, I strongly encourage everyone to diligently pursue wisdom. “Get wisdom, get understanding...wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” (Prov. 4:5-7)