Pull up your chair. Fill your cup with your favorite flavored coffee or herbed tea, and let’s talk.
I love the interaction between us in the comment section of this blog and in emails. I know it helps us get better acquainted and I am richer and very blessed by each word.
I would like to occasionally have a broader conversation on a topic here by presenting a couple of questions for your reaction, insight, experience and thoughts. I hope we all can learn from these conversations.
Lately, the word “wisdom” has been inviting me to tea. I hear her call. I see her everywhere. I feel her tug to draw closer.
You may laugh since my last name is Wise, but I think defining wisdom is hard. I want to find a clear, usable description of Wisdom and to know more about her.
Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them.
Proverbs 4: 5
Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding,
Proverbs 3: 13
Get wisdom—it’s worth more than money; choose insight over income every time.
What do you think? I would love to read your thoughts on these questions:
How would you define wisdom?
What leads to wisdom?
How do we “get wisdom” as Proverbs invites us?
Let’s talk.
I do love that you ponder on wisdom since your last name is Wise. 🙂
I’ve always wondered why wisdom is one of those very personified qualities in the Bible. Sometimes I like to substitute “Jesus” where I read “wisdom” to make it even more real to me.
Hi Lisa, And not only personified but female too. Did you read Ceil’s comment? She mentioned if we believe God lives within us, then so does wisdom. Similar to you substituting Jesus for wisdom. I imagine doing that when reading proverbs brings that text alive. will have to try that. I do believe studying His word and spending time with God are essentials to wisdom. Thanks for joining the conversation.
Hi Jeanie! Hope I’m not too late to the ‘wisdom party’?
Seems like I only know if I am sharing in God’s wisdom when I look backwards. Hindsight affords me some insight, and a chance to consider the fruits of what I have done.
If we all agree that God lives in us, then so does wisdom. It’s a matter of being open to that, and allowing the wisdom to come forward. I think it works as mysteriously as God does, don’t you? How can we understand his works and thoughts? I think I can only try to be open, and pray that I will understand it when it comes.
This is a great conversation you have going here!
Ceil
You are never too late for a good conversation. Interesting topic, isn’t it? I think living a reflective life is a key characteristic of people with wisdom. You are so right. Something about allowing the slow work of God and being willing to learn too. Great addition to our conversation, Ceil! Thanks
meant to also add I love your contribution that if God lives within us, then so does wisdom. Wow That gives me a new perspective. We already have wisdom – why don’t we use it? cultivate it? share it?
I love the comments so far. Great conversation and fun to read everyone’s input.
I love the idea of finding wisdom — I think it reveals that wisdom requires some effort on our part. It’s in Jesus and we have to be willing to make time and space to sit at His feet.
Time and space with Jesus – love that, Jen. I imagine those who have wisdom, practice that consistently too. So the effort on our part would be to be intentionally in spending time with God. I wonder what other practices open our hearts up to wisdom?
I agree with Linda – God must be in the equation if we are ever to become wise. Going to Him in prayer and studying the Scriptures is a sure way to grow in wisdom!
Martha for me too God has to part of the equation. maybe studying those who are “wise” to see how they heard, learned from God would be a good start too. Prayer and studying I bet is part of their practice. Thanks for you input!
Wisdom seems to come with experience – for those who keep God in the equation. Often our choices are influenced by what others may think, but when you ask yourself what God might think about something, or how He might handle that, you end up making wiser choices. Not always easy to put this good intention into practice but it seems to work well when I do.
God absolutely needs to be in the equation for me too. And i like your addition of experience – experience eight God and with life and as Irene notes, probably with failure too. You mentioned wise choices too – so discernment is a key element of wisdom too. I wonder why it isn’t easier to put into practice? Our ego? our rushing in life?
I think one attains wisdom as you get older and have more experience. Of course, when I was in my teens & 20s, I ignored the wisdom of my parents / grandparents – I had to “fail” and learn on my own.
Irene you had a great point as wisdom even becomes more desirable as we get older. I know I value it more now than I used to. I wonder if failure is a major path to gaining wisdom?
I think that “failing” is definitely a major path to gaining wisdom. Hopefully, you will survive your failures. For me, studying Jewish texts also helps in gaining wisdom because I can see / learn how the Jewish Rabbis & teachers (both ancient and current) glean information / wisdom & what their reasoning is / was from the text.
For example, in Leviticus 24:19-20, the Jewish Bible (Torah) states “And a man who inflicts an injury upon his fellow man just as he did, so shall be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Just as he inflicted an injury upon a person, so shall it be inflicted upon him.”
Upon studying this text, the Jewish Rabbis developed the concept of the tort system in which if you injure someone, then you are responsible for that injury and must fairly compensate that individual for the injury that you caused. In my mind, this is also wisdom.
(Clearly, if you poked someone’s eye out, God didn’t want you to lose your eye – the end result would be two individuals who may end up being blind and may not be able to support themselves or their family. In the short end, the victim may feel vindicated because they punished the aggressor and got “revenge” but in the long run, what good is to have two blind people? Especially if it was an accident, does the unintended perpetrator deserve to lose their eye?)
having just attending a retreat led by a female rabbi I know their texts are full of wisdom. I would like to study the more since I really didn’t know much about them. You gave a great example to whet my interest.
maybe being curious and willing to learn is a good trait to grow wisdom.