“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7
“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” Plato
Our culture values a lot of things. It values passion, though not necessarily passion for the right things. Just watch the commercials airing now to see passion for everything from beer to shopping to sports.
We value extremes. From the X Games to Survivor, from Extreme Makeover to Man vs Wild, we love risk takers and daredevils. Okay, we love watching them so we do not have to be one. But our culture always presses for more: a marathon is no longer enough, now you can run an ultra marathon of over 50 miles.
In the church, at least among those who want to do something for God, passion is valued no less. I see in my students a great passion for God. Such passion gives me hope for the future.
Passion matters. We call the week leading up to the cross the week of our Lord’s Passion. We read of His passion for people in Matthew 9:35-38. We cannot understand Paul apart from his passion. So we do well to value passion.
But it seems to me that while we rightfully should and do value passion, we do not value wisdom with the same, well, passion. But Scripture makes much of wisdom. Just do a search for the word. Try to read Proverbs without realizing the power of that word. There is in fact a whole section of Scripture referred to as the Wisdom books.
Why do we not value wisdom as we do passion? I spend much time with younger people who innately have (and value) passion more than wisdom. That comes with youth. But it does not have to remain in adulthood. I have probably done a better job of instilling passion than I have at encouraging students to love wisdom. I hope to change that.
But I fear wisdom is lacking at every age in our day. Just because you are old does not mean you are wise. We have been too seduced by culture to see passion as a virtue without understanding the greater virtue is wisdom. I see too many well-intentioned people value others by their passion, not wisdom. The unintended consequence is that we reward the loud, the vocal, the PASSIONATE, but we do not value the wise, the thoughtful, and reflective among us. We do so at our own peril.
This, I think, is a serious problem in the church, in particular regarding how we train youth and younger adults. Student ministry gets passion better than wisdom. But high school students preparing for college and life really need wisdom. Young adults in our churches and particularly those training for ministry could arguably use few things more than wisdom. Yet do we value being wise, or just settle for being excited?
Young adult praying about the person you will one day marry—do you seek merely someone who is passionate? Passion can be a wonderful motivator toward godliness. It can also be very superficial and quite deceptive. Some learn to talk the passion-for-God talk without demonstrating any wisdom. I talked to someone last summer who spoke to me about his great passion for God. When I asked him about his call to ministry, he had really done nothing to prepare himself specifically for the ministry he felt called to serve, but he was zealous for God! As if that were enough. IT IS NOT ENOUGH. Fire will only burn as long as there is substance to provide the fuel. Passion without regard for wisdom creates a formula for disaster. I have tragically watched some gifted young adults filled with passion shipwreck their lives by making decisions at critical points based on passion without regard for wisdom.
But it need not be that way. Do not see wisdom as some elusive treasure to be found only be the few–it is both available to and vital for all who follow Christ. Scripture tells us in Proverbs that avoiding destructive sin and all forms of calamity comes by gaining wisdom (simply read Proverbs 1). The Bible speaks of a kind of wisdom not like that of the world: “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” (James 3:17)
I have met people who on the surface were very passionate for God, yet who do very foolish things in a moment of passion. I have also met too many extremely brilliant people who have a great capacity for accumulating data, but exercise little wisdom when it comes to living life. A PhD does not a wise man make.
I think Bonhoeffer is helpful here:
“To understand reality is not the same as to know about outward events. It is to perceive the essential nature of things. The best-informed man is not necessarily the wisest. Indeed there is a danger that precisely in the multiplicity of his knowledge he will lose sight of what is essential. But on the other hand, knowledge of an apparently trivial detail quite often makes it possible to see into the depth of things. And so the wise man will seek to acquire the best possible knowledge about events, but always without becoming dependent upon this knowledge. To recognize the significant in the factual is wisdom.”
“To recognize the significant in the factual is wisdom.” If you are a follower of Jesus whether young or old, do you have the capacity to see the significant in relationships, in the church, in culture, in your own life? Do you even value the importance of that? To value the importance of significance is the beginning of wisdom; to be able to see that which is significant is wisdom indeed.
I want to encourage you to consider how much you value wisdom in your own life. How does it compare to passion? Where does it fit in your understanding of spiritual growth? Does growing in wisdom appear on the radar of your discipleship? Does imparting wisdom to others matter to you enough?
Where do I start, you may ask. Here is a simple yet effective way, an approach I take at least annually: Read a chapter from Proverbs each day for a month. There are 31 Proverbs and 31 days in most months. If you read this on the 7th, start with chapter 7. Keep going until you have read the whole book. Wisdom comes from God, and He has given His Word to impart wisdom. Spend much time in Scripture. And then, spend much time with people who are wise.
I have been very good at instilling passion. I hope to become much better at demonstrating the value of wisdom. I pray you will as well.
great stuff Doc. Thank you so much for these great words of “wisdom” to us younger guys in ministry. So thankful for you.