The real benefit of wisdom
There’s a college just down the road from us a few miles, whose motto is, “ Hope in God”. It’s campus sits amidst 125 acres of prime urban West Michigan real estate and boasts of alumni such as Pastor Robert Schuller, industrialist, Max DePree, a Nobel chemist, and a Hollywood soap-opera star. Its endowment is large and its academics well respected. It has been identified as advancing a vibrant Christian community, and yet actively supports planned parenthood over the cries of the unborn, and much of this without the knowledge or approval of many older alumni, who were dumbfounded by the discovery. As we all know, we live in a culture consumed with the acquisition of knowledge and demand of this knowledge that it produce an economic outcome. But wait a minute, maybe what we really need has less to do with the gaining of “smarts” and more to do with our need for wisdom.
No amount of academic prowess can substitute for our real need of wisdom And unfortunately, no college, Christian or otherwise, can guarantee that you will get it either, even if the perceived value is associated with a school motto. Our real problem is that the culture has lost its burden for the cultivation of timeless wisdom and has consoled itself with the stuff of intellectual competency. So why is this important?
Before an education equips you to succeed in the marketplace, it ought to prepare you for life. More important than the computation, programming, and even writing skills is the aptitude necessary to navigate life with a God-centered orientation and goals are stewardship based. Wisdom is the difference after all. It’s spoken of over 140 times in the Old Testament, is a worthy pursuit of biblical giants such as David and Job; and according to Solomon it stands at the crossroads of understanding and the fear of God. Unfortunately, it is largely lacking in the culture and disappearing from the landscape of the local church.
Biblical wisdom isn’t merely the possession of more smarts; its identified in the Scriptures as the work of skilled craftsmen (Ex.28:3), the shrewdness of tactical planners (2 Samuel 13:3), and a person dedicated to God (Proverbs 9:10). It’s the stuff of skillful living and when its working at peak efficiency, our families thrive, and our enterprises usually succeed over time. When we practice wisdom we find ourselves in sync with the created order and we are blessed, but if our thinking excludes wisdom, our practice descends toward foolishness, we are out of step with God’s created order and we suffer.
So, here’s a thought to hang on to when we think about the legacy of your education and that of your kids. Instead of demanding of our kids or ourselves a good job, a great career or an income, how about modeling the eternal value wrapped up in a godly calling, a vocation of service, and a passion for Godly wisdom. It will outlast and out-perform any school motto. And therein lies our “Real Hope.”
MJC
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