What is a wise person? If you were asked if you were a wise person, how would you respond? The common perception of wisdom has to do with brain power such as a person who is a scientist, doctor or a university professor. Others see it as someone who is aged – after 60 years you are surely a wise person! Our typical response is to not admit to being wise as it considered a pretentious thing to admit it.

God only sees two types of wisdom from His perspective. There is human (natural wisdom) and godly (divine wisdom). These are very different.

1 – Earthly wisdom

This is grounded in man’s human nature which has been affected by the fall of mankind. There are four things that distinguish this earthly wisdom:-

• It is limited to the mind of man – We live in the so-called “information age”. There is information from computers, the internet, mobiles, television, GPS, email, etc. We have more information than we can digest. It is a mistake to assume that intellectually gifted people are therefore wise. The Bible does not tell us that God rewards an increase of knowledge. Knowledge is a gift from God but it is limited. There is always something unknown or as yet undisclosed. Wisdom and knowledge (or understanding) is not the same. See Proverbs 4:5. Knowledge requires us to filter, sift and sort information. Wisdom is an applying process. Understanding tells us what is happening and wisdom tells us why. A wise person does not know everything but is capable of using knowledge to maximum advantage. A wise person knows how to apply what is learned even though there may be little formal education.
• It is based on what can be perceived by the five senses – The world sees wisdom as based on the five human senses. God’s wisdom calls for a person to walk in the discerning power of the Holy Spirit, who is not limited by human senses. The Holy Spirit gives the person the ability to recognise truth from lie, fact from fiction and right from wrong. There is a “sense” of intuition that is provided by the Holy Spirit who lives inside every believer. It is this discernment that we need in the crisis times. See the story of Job. He lost his family, fortune, reputation and health. However, he submitted to God’s wisdom. The result? He ended up better off. See Job 42:12. He lived for ages. See Job 42:16. God will reward us for godly wisdom. We will become more like Christ. See Romans 8:29.
• It is doing what man collectively defines as rational or provable – This ends up being the lowest common denominator. See 1 Corinthians 1:18-25. When you totally take God out of your life, the message of the Gospel does not make sense. Yet, to the believer it makes perfect sense. The information we have developed in order to acquire, maintain and advance our lives on this earth will not be useful in eternity. The wisdom of this world has no capability to carry a person from this life to the next. No person in the history of the world has come to a saving knowledge of God through his or her intellectual pursuits or good works. See Ephesians 2:8-9. Every other religion on this earth has a system for how man might achieve righteousness or spiritual enlightenment in his own strength, power, intellect or good works. There is no confidence of a relationship with God, inner peace or assurance of eternal life. Only in Christianity, has God reached all the way down to man. See John 3:16. The message is simple – believe and receive. It is foolishness to human wisdom, but this is how God has chosen to reveal His power and wisdom.
• Doing whatever works – Generally speaking, what works is regarded as what makes the most money or brings fame and power. Look at the entertainment industry in the last fifty years. TV, music, movies, video, etc, have become increasingly sexual, violent, occult and reliant on special effects that present a fantasy world. Some people may be being catapulted into fame but what is happening at the moral and spiritual level? Every person ultimately wants love, worthiness, fulfilment, joy, peace and assurance of eternal life. These things last for eternity. God’s wisdom says that only God’s way really works. Earthly wisdom without God’s wisdom is not balanced, resulting in self-seeking human desires without control and the controlling influence of the Evil one. See 1 John 2:16-17.

2 – Godly wisdom

This is wisdom from God’s viewpoint. It is an enemy of human wisdom.

• Purity
• Peace
• Gentleness
• Willingness to yield self
• Mercy and good fruits

Categories: Proverbs