Wisdom’s Quiet Humility

You don’t need to show what you know, just sow wisdom in quiet humility.

March’s Awakening, Day 23

The more you know, the less you need to show.

 —Author Unknown

Wise men are not always silent, but they know when to be.

 —Author Unknown 

Knowledge is proud that she knows so much; Wisdom is humble that she knows no more.

 —William Cowper 

This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23–24 NIV

But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 1 Corinthians 8:1b–2 NIV   

            True wisdom is not prideful or boastful but is patient and tempered always with love. Wisdom knows that it is a true gift from God and not something derived from one’s own self and abilities. The wise speak life into those who listen, and they are also silent when their words would fall on deaf ears or be inappropriate to speak at that time. Wisdom has a timeless power and ability to resonate profoundly in the heart and bring about new courses of action and new directions. Godly wisdom will transcend knowledge, and sometimes, wisdom can even seem counterintuitive. Once gained, wisdom becomes ingrained and remains, whereas knowledge is more fleeting. Embrace godly wisdom and heed its call. There is no better way to learn the deep, significant lessons of life.

Wisdom’s Etiquette

Wise as the owl, harmless as the dove. Wisdom is always humble and gracious and polite. Does that describe you?  

March’s Awakening, Day 22

Never seem wiser, nor more learned, than the people you are with. Wear your learning, like your watch, in a private pocket: and do not pull it out and strike it merely to show that you have one.

 —Lord Chesterfield 

The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.

 —Winston Churchill 

Knowledge is the small part of ignorance that we arrange and classify.

 —Ambrose Bierce 

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Matthew 10:16 NKJV 

            Wisdom and knowledge are great things to possess, but most assuredly they should never be used in any condescending or arrogant fashion. Just remember that no one person knows everything about every topic, and even experts and scholars rarely know everything about their own particular area of expertise. Thinking and acting as such will make yourself appear to be the fool. You can learn something from everyone and everyone knows something you don’t. Always be humble and gracious and politely correct, preferably in private, if it absolutely needs to be done. Embarrassing others, especially in public circumstances, will always be detrimental to that relationship. We all learn information in different ways and all of us have differing opinions and ideas about many things. Just remember that wisdom and knowledge have their own set of manners and etiquette too.

Genius Is Relative

We don’t know all the answers, but we can certainly start with a few pertinent questions. Open the Book that opens the door to the library.

March’s Awakening, Day 21

The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know.

 —Albert Einstein 

The thing is, in this life you can know a great deal about something, and still be wrong.

 —Sir Len Hutton

 We don’t know a millionth of one per cent about anything.

 —Thomas Alva Edison 

It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.

 —Aldous Huxley 

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” Romans 11:33–34 NIV 

“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. Job 12:13 NIV

“Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. If you have anything to say, answer me; speak up, for I want to vindicate you. But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.” Job 33:31–33 NIV

            How little we know. How little we understand. How little we can even fathom or contemplate. Even the greatest minds and the greatest talents of all humanity struggle with the limits of our human comprehension. The simplest workings of the most infinitesimally minute particle and the simplest workings of the most grandiose structure in the universe are all way beyond the most magnificent of human understanding. Oh to know the mind of God!

            As an intellectual, I can imagine spending my eternity in the library of God, or maybe even better, in His classroom. I’m not sure eternity is long enough for this feeble mind to even learn and understand a fraction of what there is to potentially know. But I look forward to the opportunity to learn all I can. It does start with the questions. And God has all the answers. I pray that this mind can wrap itself around and engage in understanding. The library of eternal knowledge is huge and it helps to know with which book to start—it’s His Book of course, the One that opens the door of the library itself.

Your Sphere of Wisdom

Are you surrounding yourself with a godly sphere of wisdom, those wiser than yourself, and those you’re imparting wisdom into?

March’s Awakening, Day 20

What the wise do in the beginning, fools do in the end.

 —Warren Buffet 

Common Sense is genius dressed in working clothes.

 —Waldo Emerson  

The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.

 —C. S. Lewis 

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 NIV

and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— Exodus 35:31 NIV  

            Unlike God, who knows the end from the beginning, we as mortal human beings, do not. We must live on a linear timeline moving only in one direction. Therefore, we must make the best of each day and learn from it, not repeating the same mistakes, and using every source of information and wisdom at our disposal. No one single individual has a monopoly on wisdom and it is often good for us to seek godly counsel and surround ourselves with those wiser than us. Surrounding ourselves with mentors rather than apprentices encourages us to grow. It is good to be a mentor and pour into an apprentice, but every great mentor has a mentor too. Sometimes, a challenging apprentice with lots of poignant questions can truly motivate the mentor to keep pace.

            Pray to be filled with the Spirit of God and be filled with wisdom, understanding, knowledge and with all kinds of skills. Embrace wisdom from whence it comes. Be the inquisitive apprentice. Excel as the sought-after mentor. Surround yourself with others wiser than yourself. And don’t overlook the obvious, as sometimes wisdom comes humbly clothed in the guise of common sense.

Wisdom’s Source

God is the supreme source of all wisdom, not self or the world. Are you being wise in your own eyes or applying godly wisdom from the source above?

March’s Awakening, Day 19

The more accurately we search into the human mind, the stronger traces we everywhere find of the wisdom of him who made it.

 —Edmund Burke 

Should it be said that the Greeks discovered philosophy by human wisdom, I reply that I find the Scriptures declare all wisdom to be a divine gift.

 —Clement of Rome 

You can’t access wisdom by the megabyte. Wisdom is concerned with how we relate to people, to the world, and to God.

 —Edmund P. Clowney  

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. Psalm 111:10 NIV 

Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness” and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”

1 Corinthians 3:18–20 NIV

For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 1 Corinthians 1:19–25 NIV 

            In our quest to become spiritually mature and ever connected to God, we must assimilate as much knowledge of God and His Word that we can.  Hopefully, that knowledge will then be applied and used appropriately to help guide and direct our choices and our lives. The more we can be in the presence of God, the more His wisdom can be imparted to us. We can glean wisdom through our life experiences, but that can oftentimes be tedious and painful.  If we listen intently to what He speaks to us, study His Word, and be obedient to that, we can circumvent many a poor choice and live a much more peaceful life. It takes humility to realize that being wise in our own eyes or the eyes of the world, simply means we are rolling the dice and hoping for a good outcome. Oftentimes, we will find ourselves floundering about and wondering how we ended up where we are. God’s ways are higher that our ways and God’s wisdom is supreme. Never rely on self or world when you’ve got the Source just a prayer away.

The Art of Wisdom

Some of life’s regrets become our greatest source of wisdom. Learn the lesson. Apply the solution. Teach the wisdom.

March’s Awakening, Day 18

Abundance of knowledge does not teach a man to be wise.

 —Heraclitus 

Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living and the other helps you make a life.

 —Sandra Carey 

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

 —William James 

Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown.” Proverbs 4:5–9 NIV  

            Wouldn’t it be nice if we had godly wisdom from a very young age and used that wisdom in all our decision making? I’m sure it would prevent much regret and ease the difficult consequences that we’ve had to endure. But then again, we do learn much from our mistakes and sometimes, those lessons stay with us best. However, it is also good to remember that some things we just will never know at the time, and so choices, even based on the best knowledge and wisdom, will sometimes simply turn out unexpectedly. Only God knows the future. For the present, in our reality, we must simply use everything at our disposal in the way of both knowledge and wisdom and always add a hefty dose of prayer to seek the appropriate direction from God. When the decision is made, regardless of how it turns out, we can at least say we did our absolute best and sought the best of counsel all along the way.

Gain Knowledge, Seek Wisdom

Knowledge is a wonderful thing to possess, but godly wisdom to apply all that knowledge is truly a gift.

March’s Awakening, Day 17

Wisdom is the application of knowledge. Obedience is the application of wisdom.

 —Author Unknown

Wisdom is knowledge, rightly applied.

 —Author Unknown 

One can have knowledge without having wisdom, but one cannot have wisdom without having knowledge.

 —R. C. Sproul 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:5–8 NIV 

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the watery depths were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Proverbs 3:13–22 NIV 

            Knowledge is the accumulation and assimilation of data, facts, and information. Wisdom is putting all that knowledge into logical, useful, and functional formats that work in the reality of life. Knowledge is gained through mental activity by learning and understanding all that is around us. Wisdom blends the hard science with the art and architecture of life and life experiences. Knowledge is a precursor to wisdom, but knowledge can be gained by all of us, whereas wisdom is more of a gifting from God. Wisdom must have a base of knowledge, but much knowledge does not impart wisdom. Gain knowledge through all and in all you can and do, and seek wisdom as a valuable gift from God.