My Dear Sister in Christ,

There are many times in any given day when I stop to ask myself if I have made the wise choice. Perhaps you ask yourself this? Some days are so full there does not seem to be time to ask, but we must not simply react to the events of our lives. We need to plan our course, or we may wake up one day and find we are far away from where we know God would have us be. It is not enough to have our choices made for us by the people and circumstances around us. God will hold us accountable individually, so we have a vested interest in every detail.

What is wisdom? The ancient people of Athens thought knowledge would bring wisdom, and sometimes that is true. Paul noted their obsession with gaining information (Acts 17:21), but that did not mean they knew how to use it. Wisdom is the skill of taking information and applying it appropriately. In spiritual terms, we know that level of wisdom starts with God (Prov 1:7). No matter how much internet research you do on what others recommend about issues from childrearing to making friends, you will never gain the amount of wisdom God gives in His Word on these very same subjects. God knows what works. He ought to, because He made us. Please start your quest for wisdom with Him. I am not saying your friends will not have useful tips or that they may not be drawing from Scripture, themselves, when they give advice, but be sure you place your trust in the right source. The world has a certain level of wisdom that comes only from human reasoning. They are not taking into account the eternal ramifications of their theories.

Sometimes women have a reputation for using their emotions more than analysis in decision making. This is not an unfounded concern so be careful not to allow your emotional connections to control all you do. There will be both emotional and academic benefits to most actions and women do tend to notice the emotional ones first. However, making decisions that are merely intellectual is not enough. When Eve decided to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil she was not being impulsive. She considered several factors. It was good food, pretty, and she was told it would make her wise (Gen 3:6). It may have made her wise from experience in the future, but it did not give her the ability to make the wise choice at that moment. She had logical reasons for eating the fruit and becoming wise was at the top of the list, but she was still wrong. First, she listened to Satan. Satan lies and spins truth to fit his ends. Eve was deceived into ignoring what God had already plainly told her. She allowed the apparent benefits to outweigh her obedience. Satan will always make sin look like the smart thing to do. He would like to convince you that the standards of the Bible are outdated or backward, but that is just an effort to subvert the good plans God has for you. Trust God.

If conventional wisdom or our own reason are in conflict with clear Scripture the humble heart will choose to do things God’s way (Prov 12:15). If we can admit that we do not know everything, then one of those things we don’t know may be the reason God tells us to act differently than what seems good to us. Perhaps the greatest irony in wisdom is that the truly wise person does not over-value their own insight. It is similar to whether the humble person acknowledges their own humility. Others will see both humility and wisdom and ask advice based on what they see. If that happens to you, then please remember to point the inquiring friend to God for the correct answers. It would be a shame to lose what you have gained at the moment it can be passed on to do good for others.

Your loving friend,

Laurie Moyer

“Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.” Proverbs 14:1