Wise Up

 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

It's good to be around wise people. They always know what to do. Wise friends can save us money, time and effort but pride will often get in the way of our seeking advice. The Bible warn that, “Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Wisdom is different from knowledge. It is knowing the right thing to do at the right time in the right way. Wisdom is the ability to make good judgments based on what you have learned from experience and experience is what we get when we don't get what we want. It stands to reason that wisdom takes time and is earned through some mistakes along the way.

Part of the problem is that we don't value the timelessness of wisdom. We fail to appreciate the experience of the past. I've never heard anyone use the phrase “modern wisdom.” Yet, we think we are wiser than those who came before us. On the other hand, those who came before us, also, thought themselves wiser.

Another challenge is that science gains knowledge much faster than society gains wisdom. We have made such tremendous leaps in our understanding of chemistry and genetics that we can now play with the basic building blocks of life itself. However, just because we can do something doesn't mean we should.

Thankfully, we can ask God for wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God.” (James 1:5)

Solomon asked God for wisdom and God was pleased. He said, “I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” (1 Kings 3:9-14)

God's wisdom is different from what the world calls wisdom. “We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness but to those who are called, both Jews & Greeks, Christ the power of God & the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, & the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:23-25)

The fear of God is, also, the end of wisdom. “If you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:1-5)

Sucker punches disguised as questions

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.
Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes
Proverbs 26:4-5

I have been told that there are no stupid questions but I have learned that there are trick questions. Jesus was asked trick questions by people who wanted to trap him into making a controversial statement about such things as taxes (Matthew 22:15-22). Some questions were silly arguments about wives in heaven (Matthew 22:25) or what kind of divorce is permitted (Matthew 19:1-10).

Jesus refused to be pulled into a trap. He declined to answer the questions directly and instead elevated the conversation to matters of greater importance or exposed the petitioner’s hidden motives.

Wise Christ-followers need to use discernment when answering unexpected questions. A sincere question seeks knowledge. If your answer leads to an argument, you stepped into a trap. Such questions are unkind and rude to say the least. Their purpose is to make the other person look silly, stupid or wrong.

I have learned to step away from such traps and let the trickster have the last word. It is of no value to me nor will it advance the Kingdom to enter into foolish controversies (Titus 3:9).

So, do you answer a fool or not?

Like Jesus, we can ask questions of our own to clarify or steer the conversation to higher ground. There are no stupid questions from a sincere speaker but the argumentative, self-satisfied fool with all the answers ought not to be answered “or you will be like him yourself.”