The Wonders of Wisdom

Sunday evening, we watched a message by Jim Sammons on “The Purpose Of It All” in which Mr. Sammons shared  a unique definition of wisdom:

Wisdom is seeing life from God’s perspective.

A corollary for the Biblical term “knowledge” would be:

Knowledge is a clear awareness of the principles of God.

And understanding:

Understanding is identifying deeper cause-effect relationships.

This morning, I was studying Proverbs 24 and decided to write out some of the verses, substituting that definition for the word “wisdom.” The results were astounding: this simple substitution brought so much more depth and insight into the truths of Proverbs! The Value of Wisdom in Starting a Family Vss. 3-4: “By [seeing life from God’s perspective] a house is built, and by [identifying deeper cause-effect relationships] it is established; by [a clear awareness of the principles of God] the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” This ties in neatly with verse 27: “Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.” For a young man definitely interested in marriage, these verses provide a great guide to priorities: Right now, I am readying my field and preparing my work. In order to build a solid house, I need to see life from God’s perspective. In order build it to last, I need to focus on understanding—seeing the deeper spiritual realities and identifying root causes. In order to have prosperity (which is not the same as $$$), I need to focus on knowledge—knowing God and knowing the ways of God.

The Value of Wisdom in Waging a War Vss. 5-6: “A man who sees life from God’s perspective is full of strength, and a man of [with a clear awareness of the principles of God] enhances his might, for by guidance [that sees life from God’s perspective] you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors is victory.” This ties in well with verse 10: “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” Quest 2007 is a front in my war. I am fighting to impart a vision of God-glorifying manliness, and while my enemies are not flesh-and-blood, they are still very real. In order to successfully wage this war (on all its fronts) I need to have strength. If I am fainting, that is because I am not seeing life from God’s perspective. To be honest, if I look at this battle from my perspective, it looks impossible. “But I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The more I study the principles of God, the more effectively I will be able to use the strength that comes from seeing God’s point of view. These verses also emphasize the importance of wise counsel. I need to seek an abundance of counselors able to see life from God’s perspective and to counsel me.

The Value of Wisdom as Pleasure Vss. 13-14: “My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that [seeing life from God’s perspective] is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.” Wisdom is pleasant. Seeing life God’s way is “good tasting” to our soul, since it gives us hope and a vision for the future.

Seeing Life from God’s Perspective So, how do we see life this way? I believe that the only way is to saturate our selves in God’s word. I know I am sounding like a broken record—ask the Quest leadership. My answer to just about every need or problem is to get into God’s Word more. But really, the best way to see life God’s way is to read about it from God’s perspective. We must find the mind of Christ by digging into His Word and figuring out what His perspective is. This Scriptural immersion will help us know what God’s perspective is, but we still have to actually do the seeing. This means actually looking at what’s going on, putting on our “eyes of faith” and analyzing events with a Biblical mindset. This is “seeing life from God’s perspective.” This is wisdom.