Here is my question today: How much knowledge do I need in order to be wise?
It’s a trick question, I think. We think of wisdom as a plateau that we reach, and our answer might reflect this perspective, but if wisdom is a learned skill, then we might answer the question differently.
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.Matthew 7:24
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
You can see that one must know something that God desires before he can do it. How many things must a mother know before she can obey?
Just one.
and then another.
and another.
What’s significant about the Matthew passage is that we often think if we believe the right things, we’re like the man building his house on the rock. But that’s not what Jesus says. In fact, you can know all the right Bible verses and still be like the man building a house on the sand. What Jesus says is that a wise person will hear the Word of God and obey it.
It doesn’t matter if you’re just learning about the Bible, or if you’ve grown up hearing it. It doesn’t matter if we understand most of the Bible, or find much of the Bible a mystery. No matter what our background, we are all able to obey what we know, and we all must obey God one spiritual step at a time. God works in all of our lives differently. The lessons He is teaching me, He may not be teaching you. What I’m struggling with might bring a smile because you’re learned through a similar struggle.
Often, we childishly pray for wisdom, yet in fact, we are not acting on knowledge that God has given already. I have found this true in my life. This morning I’m asking myself, Self, what do you need to obey today? And the laundry calls in a tiny voice, “Over here!” So off I go.
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