The following questions are ones that were brought up in my small group discussion at church, with the answers and thoughts being a combination of my own, my friends from church, and my friend's at lunch thoughts and perspectives:
What is wisdom? What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom?
I would define wisdom as knowing how to live in a way that honors God. Wisdom, by biblical terms, is rooted in the fear of God, meaning a respect that comes from understanding the very nature of God. When you acknowledge that God is God, that He is good, and that He is the source of all goodness, then you understand that wisdom is good, therefore you can say that wisdom comes from God.
Knowledge is to know. Wisdom is intentionally acting on the knowledge that you know to be true. If one has knowledge but does not put that knowledge into action with wisdom, then it is useless knowledge. This is the right use of knowledge. One can know the right way but still choose the wrong one.
Wisdom is good and God is wholly good and the source of all goodness, so wisdom comes from God. Often, as people, we know what we want but not when to act. Wisdom is displaying God's timing and will.
'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline'.
-Proverbs 1:7
What are characteristics of those who are wise?
Wisdom is God-given, so those who are wise are God-fearing. Other adjectives would be prayerful, humble, moral, able to grow, able to learn, knowing to wait, and willing to listen.
What are two paths in life that the Proverbs describe? (Proverbs 16:25) (Proverbs 24:3-4)
One way, the way that man thinks is right, leads to destruction and death, while the other way, the way of the Lord, leads to life and blessing. The godly life lived out yields peace, blessing, and true life.
What is the difference in earthly and heavenly wisdom?
Earthly wisdom is 'to bitter envy and selfish ambition in the heart' (James 3:14) and is also found in experience from our own sinful nature, though often humanity does not learn from mistakes and therefore gains knowledge but not wisdom, while heavenly wisdom is 'peace-loving, pure, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere' (James 3:17). I would say earthly wisdom is how humanity wants to maneuver the world, while heavenly wisdom goes against human nature and shows us the nature of God and is on a holy and spiritual level, showing us how the world ought to be maneuvered and providing the strength to do so through intentional actions.
Why is the fear of the Lord significant?
Wisdom is rooted in fear of the Lord, and fearing the Lord shows a correct understanding of God's character. When we see that God is good we are able to know that all goodness is of Him.
To acknowledge wisdom being God-given is to acknowledge that it is not of humanity or any other source. Humanity is faulty and imperfect. Even though people can achieve good things, no one person-excluding Christ- is completely pure. Only the Father and Jesus Christ are wholly good. Therefore, goodness can not come from humanity. To see this as truth is to see God as the life-giver. When we submit to our Father, who only wants our good, we are able to seek His will, bring His kingdom, and put His given wisdom into practice.
When we know wisdom comes from God and that God wants good for all, we know that we can ask God for wisdom when we lack it, in any and all situations. God has given us guidelines for wisdom in His Word, in the books of Proverbs, James, Ecclesiastes, and many others, so that in this life we don't have to mess up to find the knowledge in wisdom, but rather we can be proactive and use the wisdom from the Bible to avoid messy situations. However, sometimes it is in these dark times after we do mess up that we see the wisdom of the Lord and are able to acknowledge the faultiness of humanity.
These are just some thoughts on the topic of wisdom vs knowledge that have been on my heart today. I hope these words encourage and speak truth to you!
