Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. – The Bible
We seek God when we need Him most. We reach out to God when we can’t find the solution to our problem. Till problems hit our life we give a little time to think about God. If we look back, most of the problem occurs because of our own conscious wrong choices and decisions we made. We might blame God for it. God has given us free will to select between right and wrong.
How to make the right choices?
We spend most of our time seeking knowledge. We study books, do research and take pride in proving we know something. We have gained a bachelor’s and master’s degrees. With all the knowledge and the associated reasoning power, we still do not make good decisions. Why does our knowledge fail us? What is missing in today’s education? There is nothing wrong with the education system. But our confidence that we can solve life mysteries with our education is a wrong expectation. The missing piece is wisdom. What we gain through our education is knowledge; It’s not wisdom.
Knowledge vs. Wisdom
What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Knowledge is knowing what was already found. We gain knowledge by studying, listening and reading. We grow our knowledge by analyzing and understanding what we studied. For example, we know the earth revolves around the sun. We learned it from our textbooks. Intellectual people will have the ability to gain a large amount of knowledge in a short time.
Wisdom differs from knowledge. A highly knowledgeable person can make wrong decisions. But a person with wisdom comes with good reasoning ability to make the right choices even though he may not be highly knowledgeable. People with wisdom need not be holding a master’s degrees from prestigious institutions. They could do simple jobs and lead a simple life. But people with wisdom can make the right choices which will work not only for them but also for others too.
How to gain wisdom?
People with high reasoning ability naturally possess the talent to make an informed decision. But wisdom is not about making the right choices based on the information available. Instead, it is an ability to make the right choices even though the required information is not available.
The empire of Babylon is known for its intellectual wisdom. The kings of Babylon selected young men and fed them with knowledge so they could serve as wise men in the king’s court. One of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar hired a slave boy called Daniel. He found him wise among all the other wise men who served in his court. Daniel not only interpreted the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar but he also told the king what he dreamt the previous day. Daniel gave all the glory to His God, who has revealed the secrets to him.
Why the Fear of God is essential?
Wisdom has elements that are associated with God’s revelation. God reveals to man what is right, what to avoid and what will happen in the future. Bible says, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. To gain wisdom, we need to fear God. Bible also says that the Fear of God is to hate evil. Yes, we need to not only avoid evil but hate it to fear God.
Hence, fearing God is important to gain wisdom in our life and wisdom is essential to make the right choices in life. When we make our decisions by consulting with God and asking his intervention, God gives us the wisdom to choose the right options. For example, choosing the right partner in life needs God’s wisdom. Choosing whether to invest in a business, how to spend my money, how to handle a difficult situation in the office, all of them need God’s wisdom. Many of our problems in life originate from the wrong choices we exercise during our course of time. Making the right choices is an essential step in avoiding problems.
My Dear Friend, I urge you to look at God before you make choices in life. God can guide you and make you the best choice for you and for your family. Do you need help? We are here to pray for you.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.