What does it mean to be truly wise? The older I’ve gotten the more I realize that to be wise is so much more than being smart. Being smart, according to Webster’s is, “having or showing a high degree of mental ability; witty, clever.” Wisdom, on the other hand, is defined as; the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships, insight; good sense, judgement. Synonyms are discretion and prudence. The first is just about knowing, the second is about discerning and the two are vastly different. Knowing is mainly an exercise of the mind, discerning is a discipline of the heart. One of my favorite quotes is, “the purpose of theology is doxology, we study in order to praise” (Wiersbe). If seeking knowledge doesn’t lead you to God, and to praise him for his vast wisdom, you cannot be truly wise.
In terms of the attributes of God, this is one of his communicable attributes, which means it’s one that we are meant to share. So far this year we have journaled about three of his incommunicable attributes, his immutability, his sovereignty, an
d his majesty. Incommunicable attributes are ones we are not meant to, or able to share. Communicable attributes, however, are those that God means for us to display here on earth as a means of testifying to who he is and to his plan for mankind. So looking over the past months, we are meant to be loving, good, trustworthy, and wise.
A main factor in becoming wise is to realize where all wisdom comes from, and it only ever comes from one place, God himself. It is God through the providential experiences of our lives that makes us wise in a way that honors and glorifies him. If it were up to us we would live lives without any suffering and pain, but these very instances are often what he uses to grow wisdom in us. You see, we would never be wise enough to ordain our own suffering in order to get wisdom, but an all wise God will do that and will bring his beloved child through it for their good and his glory.
Today is a special day, it’s not only the first of the month and the start of a new journal plan, it’s my mom’s birthday. As I was reflecting on wisdom and the fact that today is her birthday, I was reminded of all the things I’ve learned from her. Practical things that have made me smart, but many more experiential things born out of her own suffering that have made her wise. Things that she was prudent enough to hold on to until I needed them because wisdom also knows proper timing. The thing about wisdom is it is cumulative over the course of a lifetime. It is cultivated by trial and error, it is perfected with time, and it is greatly to be desired.
My prayer for us over the next 31 days is from Psalm 90:12; “Lord, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
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