If I could only pray one prayer for my children it would be, “Lord, make them wise.”

Far more important than this society’s main two gods—wealth and fame—wisdom is the Biblical approach to this world. (See: Don’t Believe the Lie ‘If You Have Your Health‘)

• Having wisdom implies a knowledge of God, self, and culture.
• It requires a deep dependence upon God and a continual awareness that without him, we are fools.
• It demands a constant pursuit because God so often acts in a way which I would never expect.

As seen in Job 28.13, there are primarily two stumbling blocks between my children and wisdom: (For more from the Book of Job, see: here or here or here or here)

Humanity does not know the value of wisdom. We fail to understand its importance. Not knowing its value, we seek after other things which seem more useful—fame, wealth, health, ease. Yet the Bible makes it clear that wisdom is more important than these temporal possessions. Having wisdom allows a person to respond properly to a variety of life settings. Without wisdom, any other possession will be wasted because of our foolishness.

Humanity cannot find wisdom on our own. Knowledge can be discovered by humanity. We can look at God’s creative order to attempt to make sense of it. Yet wisdom—right knowledge which leads to right action—is not something we can discover on our own. It requires the intervention of God. Without God’s presence, we can be smart but we cannot be wise.

If wisdom is a primary treasure, but one we can easily overlook and can never discover on our own, the obvious question becomes: How can we become wise?

Job 28.28 shows two steps toward growing in wisdom:

1. Fear of the Lord. Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. This is not an all-out terror of God which drives us away from Him. This is an honest reflection of his sovereign power which because of the Cross of Jesus Christ drives us to God. As my small children run to me when they are afraid because they believe I am strong, I can run to God in every circumstance because I know He is strong. The fear of the Lord is an awe of God which draws us nearer to him.

Until we experience an awe regarding God, we cannot be wise. Wisdom requires us to understand the creative order of God. We must know that there is a God, who He is, and we must understand that we are not Him. Without the fear of the Lord, we are tempted to believe this world is about us. We can fall prey to the temptation of making ourselves a god. We will lose sight of the natural order of life and the result will be foolish decision making.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Unless our lives are built on the foundation of God’s existence, we cannot order our lives rightly. We cannot be wise.

2. Obedience. Wisdom does not flourish as we grow in knowledge. Wisdom flourishes as we apply knowledge to action and obey Him. As we obey God, our trust in Him grows. As our trust grows, wisdom begins to take root.

It’s important to notice the relationship with knowledge and wisdom. We cannot grow in wisdom without knowledge, but just because we are growing in knowledge does not mean we are necessarily growing in wisdom. Wisdom requires action. It is more than a cognitive pursuit. Knowledge alone is not the ultimate goal of wisdom. Right action born from right knowledge is the true outcome of wisdom.

As a father, there are many things I want for my children. Yet nothing compares to my desire that they would be wise. This requires them to know God, understand their place in His creation, and obey him in every aspect of their lives.

If they can do that, it would far outweigh any wealth, fame, or comfort which might come their way.

Questions:

1. Do you make decisions based on your place in God’s creative order?

2. Are you obeying God?