I am one who have received a bachelors degree. My wife has her masters degree. Does that make either one of us smarter than the person who has only a high school diploma? Maybe. Does that say that we have more wisdom? No, it does not. I have seen many people in this world who has a lot of book knowledge but have very little wisdom. We are in a world in which the higher degree you have, the more people you can give advice to. You are qualified because you have sat in class for years and obtained a piece of paper.
When we receive degrees, we sometimes get the big head and become wise in our own eyes. We must understand what wisdom really is. Wisdom is having good judgment, deep understanding, and having insight. Wisdom takes the experiences of life and incorporates them into the knowledge that we have acquired. Wisdom tells us what to do with the knowledge that we have. What is the use of having knowledge if we do not know what to do with the knowledge that we have? Wisdom tells us what to do with that knowledge so that it may benefit us and others around us.
Let us flip the script. What I explained in the previous paragraph is worldly knowledge and wisdom. That knowledge and wisdom is good but it is not true knowledge and wisdom. True knowledge and wisdom comes from the One who knows all and His name is God. Why settle for what we are receiving from the world when we can receive much more if we go to the Source of all knowledge and wisdom.
In Proverbs 3:7, it tells us to be not wise in our own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. What is the scripture saying here? If we look at the word "wise" according to the scripture, some of us have good knowledge of the bible and think that we know everything there is to know. We are wise in our own eyes. The Pharisees and Saduccess had this problem. The Pharisees and Saduccess had a lot of book knowledge but no true wisdom. They had no true revelation from the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit did not dwell in them. They were stiff-necked and had hard hearts. Jesus could not tell them anything. We must understand that it is not about us and but is about God. We gain knowledge according to what man teaches us but maybe not according to what the Holy Spirit teaches. We lose focus on what we are called to do. We find out that the end result is not what we had planned.
True knowledge and wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit. He teaches us through conviction on what to do and what not to do. He leads us and guides us until we leave this earth. Not only does He help us in those ways, but He also gives us wise words to say to others to bring positive results.
We can obtain true wisdom through submission. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to submit ourselves to God. We cannot receive what God has for us if we have problems with submission. Proverbs 1:7 states that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Many people get the knowledge but they stop there. They cannot handle discipline so they do not gain wisdom. Discipline/instruction assists in the manifestation of wisdom. A wise man always disciplines himself to increase knowledge and wisdom. Let us put knowledge and wisdom to the side for a second. Many people do not fear the Lord. For this reason, they never get to the next level in God. Fear means to reverence, respect, and be in submission to God. Fearing God is ground zero for building acquiring knowledge and wisdom. If we cannot do this, we will never get what the Holy Spirit is pouring out.
This goes back to verse 7 in Proverbs 3. If we truly reverence the Lord, we will not be wise in our own eyes. We will be wise according to God's word. We will have good judgment. We will know right from wrong through experiences in life and conviction of the Spirit. We will also depart from evil. When we become wise in our own eyes, we tend to put ourselves in front of God. When we do this, we make ourselves gods. Now we have broken the first commandment. Now our so-called wisdom does not benefit us at all and it does not edify the body of Christ. Being wise in our own eyes is an evil act and will not reap a healthy harvest. We will reap destruction and chaos.
We must begin to really get to know God through His word. We need to know the ins and outs of God. Gain knowledge and wisdom but we must not allow pride and boastfulness to overcome us in the process. God has so much for us if we are willing to submit to Him and let Him truly take over our lives. We then can be in a position to help others who do not have the knowledge and wisdom that we possess.
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