Many Are Without a Basic Ingredient for Successful Living

When I teach lessons from the book of Proverbs, I often start by defining knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Many have knowledge without understanding. Others have understanding but are without wisdom. If we are without wisdom, life will prove to be not only hard but disastrous.

There is a source for wisdom. James gives it to us. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5

Knowledge

Knowledge is information. It is familiarity, awareness, or understanding gained through experience or study. It is having facts, but it is important to have truthful facts. We can have information that is nothing but lies, myths, or opinions.

Understanding

Understanding is the next step. It takes the “knowledge” and then starts to see how that fits in life. It makes the knowledge useful. For example, I have knowledge about fresh water tropical fish. As a result, I have a measure of success keeping and raising tropical fish based on my knowledge of their environmental and dietary needs.

Wisdom

Wisdom is the important missing ingredient. Wisdom takes truthful knowledge, handles it carefully and thoughtfully to achieve understanding, and then applies it to life decisions, words, thoughts, and desires.

Building the House of Your Life

Alistair Begg says it this way: “Wisdom is not mental; it is moral. It is knowing how to live God’s way in God’s world and acting on that. Jesus memorably talked about wisdom in terms of the wise and the foolish builders (Luke 6:46-49). The wise man built his house upon the rock, and the waves came tumbling round, and the house stood firm. The foolish man built his house upon the sand, and it collapsed. The difference between the two types of people this story represents is that while both hear Jesus’ words, only the wise put them into practice, building their lives upon them, allowing their decisions to be directed and their desires to be shaped by what He says.”

How to Identify a Follower of Jesus

A follower of Jesus knows that the wisdom needed comes from God and can be found in God’s Word. Romans 11:33 says, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

Five Minute Friday

This post is part of the weekly Five-Minute Friday link-up.

All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.