What Is Wisdom?Sample

The Way of Wisdom

Wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her. (Prov. 8:11)

The book of Proverbs is the treasury of the Old Testament’s wisdom literature. To be wise in the biblical sense means thinking, acting, and speaking in ways that lead to human flourishing. There’s a big difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is knowing that tomatoes are a fruit, not a vegetable; wisdom is knowing not to put them on an ice cream sundae. Knowledge is being able to recite the Ten Commandments; wisdom is devoting yourself to keeping them.

Psalm 1 is about wisdom, though the word doesn’t exist there. The psalmist describes the “blessed” or “happy” person (Ps. 1:1), which is what living wisely makes us. Wisdom begins with the negative—rejecting the ideas, actions, and attitudes of those who have turned away from God. Positively, wisdom is delighting in God’s Word and making it the daily focus of our life. Those who live this way are like trees “planted by streams of water. Though everything around them may be dry and barren, they will always be flourishing and fruitful.

People somehow have the idea that sin is fun and godliness is boring. The truth is exactly the opposite. It’s the wicked whose lives end up being as dry and empty and unsubstantial as chaff. But the way of the righteous leads straight to God, and meanwhile, there is abundant life all along it.

As you pray, take delight in Jesus (who is the Way) and the abundant life he promises (John 10:10).