Wisdom's Maker

OT: Job 27-31
NT: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

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Job 28:12-15, 20-24, 28 — But where shall wisdom be found? / And where is the place of understanding? / Mortals do not know the way to it, and it is not found in the land of the living. /The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’ and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ / It cannot be gotten for gold, and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.

“Where then does wisdom come from? / And where is the place of understanding? / It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air. / Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’ / “God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. / For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens. / And he said to humankind, ‘Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’”

Does someone you know think they know more than anyone else knows? Are they so confident in their education, their research, or their instincts that they believe they are qualified to answer any question? Solve any problem? One of the great lies in Western Christianity is the lie that says "with knowledge comes wisdom." In other words, the more you know, the better your decisions will be. It's a great lie. And we love to stake our entire education upon its principle. But does knowledge equate wisdom? Is a wise man truly "wise?" Job wondered about this and he found his answer to be: "not necessarily." Wisdom is not something you can mine for, he writes in chapter 28, nor something you can buy. It does not come by our great effort or our great education. No, wisdom comes from God and only God can give it away.

The Scripture is very clear in this one truth: To be wise is to fear the Lord. To fear the Lord is to obey Him, to keep His precepts. If one lives in accordance to the commands of Christ Jesus, God's Son, he or she will be given wisdom from God. Plain and true. The more you walk with Christ -- regardless of your education -- the wiser you will be. For you will have tested the words of the Lord and found them to be true and trustworthy. You will have held onto the promises of Christ as your hope. You will have walked by the Holy Spirit and gained wisdom through the experiences of that walk. I know of many dear saints of God who never went to college and yet have more wisdom in their thumb than I have in my highly educated brain. Why? They have a lifetime of walking by the Spirit that has been rewarded by the Maker of Wisdom. And it is He who really matters.

Be God's.