The Bible talks a lot about Solomon’s wisdom. One of the reasons his wisdom is memorable is that it’s not human wisdom raised to God’s level of understanding, it’s godly wisdom offered in a way that humans can understand. And that means God’s wisdom can be accessible to all of us! If you think God’s wisdom is beyond you, or you think you’re ‘not clever enough’, listen to what Solomon, the wisest man in the world, said: ‘Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honour you’ (vv. 6-8 NIVUK). Along those same lines, the preacher Haddon Robinson said: ‘Since 1955 knowledge has doubled every five years…High school graduates today have been exposed to more information about the world than Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, or Benjamin Franklin. In terms of facts alone, neither Moses nor Paul could pass a college entrance exam today. Yet, by everyone’s standards, even with all our knowledge…society today is peopled with a bumper crop of brilliant failures…men and women…educated to earn a living often don’t know anything about handling life itself. Alumni from noted universities have mastered information about a narrow slice of life – but couldn’t make it out of the first grade when it comes to living successfully with family and friends. Let’s face it. Knowledge is not enough to meet life’s problems. We need wisdom, the ability to handle life with skill.’ And Charles Spurgeon once said, ‘There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool; but to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.’ The more information we’re exposed to, the more we need to pray for wisdom so we can use our knowledge in ways that honour God.
