The Bible often speaks to us about wisdom. I’ve known a few men and women during my lifetime who’ve impressed me as being truly wise. Out of all of the people you might meet in a lifetime, you may meet only a few who impress you with their wisdom. Fools on the other hand, seem to be a dime a dozen—you can find them everywhere! So we need to ask, what is wisdom? And since God wants us to have wisdom, how do we actually become wise? Today, let’s listen to a passage from Psalms which may be helpful:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. (Psa. 111:10a)

The psalmist speaks about two distinct qualities: wisdom and understanding. The writer shows us that each of these two qualities has a moral foundation. The foundation for wisdom is the fear of the Lord; honoring and reverencing God. The foundation for understanding is practicing the Lord’s precepts. Understanding means we do what we learn in God’s Word. It’s the fear of the Lord expressed in acts of obedience that demonstrate true wisdom and true understanding. However, I think there’s another distinction you and I should consider: wisdom and understanding on one hand, and education and cleverness on the other. There are many well-educated and clever people who do not demonstrate wisdom or understanding. Cleverness is a quality of native intelligence. You and I know people who are very clever but are not very wise. Neither does higher education guarantee understanding; for we all know well-educated people who can be very foolish.

Today, do you want to be wise? Fear the Lord. Do you want to have understanding? Do what He says! If you and I focus on doing these things every day, we will have the wisdom and understanding that come from God...and that is very Good News!