John Wesley said, “When I was young, I was sure of everything; In a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half as sure of most things as I was before. At present, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to me.” Wesley’s quote reminds me of another adage that says, “Knowledge is proud to know so much; Wisdom is humbled to know so little.”
At some point in our lives, most of us begin to ponder what we know, what we think we know, and what we don’t know at all. We respect those brainiacs who walk around with abundant head knowledge, able to remind us of things that are important, or at least able to play a good game of Trivial Pursuit. We honor the learning process, but in the end, what do we know?
Perhaps knowledge has served you well. It has allowed you to rise in your chosen profession. It has given you good counsel as you made choices. It has provided for your future. Knowledge is good. Like Wesley, though, I suspect many of us begin to wonder what it is we actually know for sure. What bits of knowledge serve us well? When we were young and the whole world was in front of us, we targeted the kind of knowledge we wanted to acquire and moved to the head of the class. With a few more years and some bitter choices behind us, we began to realize that knowing things didn’t necessarily equip us to be wise. Knowing things was only a part of the puzzle. We could know things, but still not make a wise decision.
So, I bring this before you to consider the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Consider your world views and apply all the knowledge you have from news channels and books, from great speakers, and world leaders. Do they have knowledge or wisdom? It turns out God was pleased when Solomon asked for wisdom. He could have asked for riches, or power, or knowledge. He could have asked to live forever, but no, he asked for wisdom to rule wisely. God gave him insight and heart knowledge of people and situations. God gave him the ability to be discerning and decisive. God wants those things for you and me as well. He wants those things for those in leadership. He wants us to be wise enough to know when we need His help, His guidance, and His depth of understanding.
The older you get, you may discover you want to lean into the One who is Knowledge personified, the One who is wisdom on every level, the One who is still in control.
May you be blessed today by holy wisdom.