“Claiming to be wise, they became fools…” – Romans 1:22
Today we will close out the week talking about the difference between wisdom and knowledge. The world we live in is explained in Romans 1:22: “Claiming to be wise, they became fools…” Our culture and cultural leaders know nothing about sex, money, gender, family, government, leadership, God, or life. Our nation has higher literacy rates, more education, and access to more information than ever, and people are stupid. We have knowledge, but we do not have wisdom. The Bible mentions wisdom over 400 times. The Bible has an entire genre of books called the Wisdom Literature – Proverbs, Song of Songs, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Job, and James.
There is a massive difference between knowledge and wisdom. How many people have gone to college and received a degree but not gained wisdom? How many have graduated and didn’t know what to do with their career, pots and pans, genitals, credit card, schedule, and chose an accountability group of Jose Cuervo, Jim Beam, and Johnny Walker? We have a generation that can take a selfie at the unemployment office but does not know how to change a tire, make a meal, or do a load of laundry.
Knowledge tells you what to believe; wisdom tells you how to behave. Knowledge gives you facts to learn; wisdom gives you faith to live. Knowledge will challenge your mind; wisdom will change your life. Knowledge is about information; wisdom is about transformation. Knowledge comes from school; wisdom comes from the Spirit. Knowledge helps you get good grades; wisdom helps you live good lives. Knowledge is loved by the haughty; wisdom is loved by the humble. Knowledge is theoretical; wisdom is practical.
You can get a master’s degree and not know what to do with your money, schedule, or diet. You can get a master’s degree and have no idea how to pursue or marry a woman or be a husband and father. Education is not bad, and knowledge is not evil but, without wisdom, it just leads to a parade of smart people who are educated beyond their intelligence who think they’re wise when they’re, in fact, foolish. That’s the world we live in. Most of what guys have been told about being a man is stupid. It’s not wise; it’s foolishness. Thankfully, the Bible has a lot of wisdom to help God’s men mature.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” Is it a sin to be a child or childish? Not if you’re a child. You can’t look at a four-month-old and demand, “Stop acting like a baby.” They are a baby, and that’s how they act. It’s not a sin to be childish unless you’re a man. When you’re a man and you’re acting like a child, that’s a problem.
In what areas of life can you grow in wisdom?
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