What is wisdom?

I have written before on the difference between knowledge and wisdom. The two are deeply related, but they are nonetheless distinct. You can have knowledge without wisdom, but not wisdom without knowledge. James tells us “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” (2:19). The demons have the knowledge that there is one God. But they hate what they know, and they react to their knowledge with folly, with an angry fear.

Peter, on the other hand, reacted well to some news he likely didn’t much care for. Jesus, having drawn great crowds, having miraculously fed the five thousand, begins to speak on man’s inability to come to Him without the prior regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. In a word, He begins to talk about predestination. Predictably the crowds thin swiftly-

“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away?’ But Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’” (John 6: 66-68).

Wisdom is recognizing that even if you don’t like what you hear Jesus saying, that you still need Jesus, there is no hope without Him. You can almost hear the gears grinding in Peter’s mind. He too sees the crowd dwindling. He knows why- he too likely bristled under Jesus’s mysterious words. But as Peter mulls this over he remembers his ultimate need, and that this mystery speaking Jesus is the only one with the answer.

Wisdom then is the right response to the knowledge that we have. It is a refusal to be ruled by our emotions. The fool is the one who, wanting the world to be different than it is, determines to live in light of his wish. The wise man is the one who sees the world as it is and determines to live in light of reality, however he might feel about it.

The spirit of romanticism runs deep. It sees our emotions as the deepest reality, and insists reality adjust. If our feelings are the ultimate reality then they are also the ultimate ethic. That is, our feelings are their own justification. Like the demons, however, we find it all too easy to feel wrongly. Because we are angry at our brother we interpret his behavior in the worst possible light. Because we support our favorite candidate, we interpret his behavior in the best possible light. Because we are down we lose sight of the promises of God, and have the audacity to feel abandoned. Because we enjoy our sin we forget that He is holy.

Wisdom then shows itself as emotional discipline. Such doesn’t mean we don’t feel strongly. Instead it commands that we feel strongly. But accurately. Wisdom is hating all that God hates, loving all that God loves. It means knowing the limits of our knowledge, and withholding judgment until the facts are in. May God grant us the wisdom to love and seek wisdom. Jesus is wisdom’s name.