Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?… God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells. — Job 28:20,23 (NIV)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. — Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding — Proverbs 9:10 (NIV)
The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom… Proverbs 15:33 (NIV)
I was thinking a little bit about wisdom the other day. More to the point, I harassed the Bible Study group about it. I pestered them for examples of foolishness and examples of wisdom.
I wasn’t even as far along as, “How do I get any.” I was more in the ballpark of, “What is it?”
In some ways, this is a funny question – everyone knows what wisdom is. Sure, now and again people have a discussion about the difference between wisdom and knowledge, but when someone uses the word, no explanation is required. We all understand what it is, and we all understand well enough that we don’t ever have to talk about it.
But I wanted to stick words to it, and eventually I reached a definition for wisdom that satisfied me.
“It is wise to make a good choice. It is foolish to make a bad choice.”
It’s almost embarrassing to make a statement this obvious, this redundant, and call it a definition. But bear with me, because there’s something worth thinking about here.
Wise decisions are the ones that have good outcomes. Generally speaking. In the long run. Most of the time. More of the time.
Foolish decisions have bad outcomes. Foolish decisions that seem to come out okay are merely lucky. They are still foolish, because in no way do they maximize good – over the long term they are a losing strategy. Similarly, not thinking about outcomes at all is also Foolish, because it’s an abysmal strategy if you want Good Outcomes.
Knowledge fits in nicely with this definition. Often Knowledge is required to maximize good. Ignorance can keep us from knowing what will result in something good and what will result in something bad. Still, everyone already knows that wisdom is more than a question of knowledge. But what more?
For me, the most compelling aspect of this definition is that little humongous word, ‘good’.
That simple definition, “It is wise to make a good choice” performs a tremendous thing.
It links wisdom with goodness.
That’s a huge thing. It’s massive. It’s phenomenal, because once you link these two concepts, all questions about wisdom suddenly depend on what is good.
Is it good to eat cheese? If it’s good to eat cheese, this means something very important for which decisions are wise and which are foolish. Cheese-eating FTW!
Is it good to love someone? Even when you don’t feel like it? (Big questions with a big impact on what is wise.)
Is it good to die?
These are tough questions with tough answers, but they all point to one thing.
If what is wise is utterly dependent on what is good, then the source of all wisdom must necessarily be, above everything else, the indisputable authority on goodness.
The quotes at the start of this post suddenly make new sense to me. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom because it is the willingness to pay attention to him, and what he has to say about good, and about evil.
What is the core of the fall of man? Isn’t it that he replaced God’s definition of goodness with his own, and God’s definition of evil with his own? This starts to make more sense of why the Bible is so harsh on the Biblical fool. He says in his heart, “There is no God.” There is, then, no Godly definition of goodness. Once goodness is subjective and arbitrary, then the question of wisdom is moot, and not worth the time taken to ask it.
After all, if no one can say what is right, who can say what is wise?
There is no more cataclysmic action than to cling to a version of good which is of human origin. It’s a guaranteed recipe for human suffering.
The reason understanding only dwells with God is because only God knows what is good. This is why God’s wisdom is foolishness to men. This is why the Pharisees couldn’t understand Jesus. Not because they weren’t smart. Not because they were hearing impaired.
There was a difference in what they believed was a Good Thing. Ultimately, the greatest thing we can do to make wise decisions is to value those things that are actually good. This is uncomfortable.
It means that wisdom implies righteousness.
Notice that throughout secular society, you can discuss wisdom all you like – it’s absolutely non-controversial and everyone is happy to talk about it. Even ethics! They’re considered to be God-neutral.
But talk about righteousness, now? Hmm… food for thought.