Robert Short opined,
The situation
today is:
Lots of knowledge,
but little understanding.
Lots of means,
but little meaning.
Lots of know-how,
but little know-why.
Lots of sight,
but little insight.
A
certain bumper sticker conveyed a similar sentiment with these words, "You are
only young once, but you can be immature your whole life."1
In a word, what we sorely lack today is wisdom.
What is wisdom? How does wisdom differ from its close cousins knowledge, understanding,
and discernment? Knowledge is that which comes from the ability to see, to hear,
and to ascertain through experience. Knowledge resides in the intellect.
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Understanding is insight into the nature of a thing, a deeper level of knowing.
A former parishioner distinguished understanding from knowledge when he confessed,
"I don't understand all I know about that." I know that a computer works with
a binary code of 0's and 1's, for example, but I don't understand how a computer
works.
Discernment is the ability to distinguish one thing from another and often involves
one's moral sensitivities, i.e., feelings about right and wrong. The discerning
person not only distinguishes one thing from another but will normally proceed
to make a moral judgment as to which is best.
Wisdom goes beyond knowledge, understanding, and discernment. Wisdom is to exercise
sound judgment based on these so as to pursue a proper course of action. The
Bible terms as wisdom (hokma) various skills and abilities, including
skill in spinning (Ex. 35:25), tailoring (Ex. 28:3), engraving and embrodering
(Ex. 35:35), goldsmithing (Jer. 10:9), solving riddles (Pro. 1:6) and soothsaying
(Gen. 41:8), as well as the ability to work as a military strategist or statesman
(Isa. 10:13; 29:14; Jer. 49:7), architect (Ex. 35:30 - 36:1), or sailor (Ezek.
27:8). Over and above all of these exercises of wisdom, the greatest wisdom
known to Scripture is found in the skill of living well. True wisdom is to perceive
the nature of this world as created by God and to live in accord with it. In
other words, wisdom is getting tuned into God's frequency for life and living
in that frequency.2
The Hebrew Bible divides our Christian Old Testament into three sections: Torah,
Prophets, and Writings. Included in the Writings are the books of wisdom. While
wisdom and wisdom-related themes appear throughout the Bible, they are concentrated
especially in Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. Approximately one dozen of the
psalms are also categorized as wisdom writings.3 In the
New Testament, the epistle of James bears the marks of this genre.4
The Bible contains two
types of wisdom literature. Reflective or speculative wisdom literature contemplates
the nature of this divinely created world and man's place in it. Theodicy, the
justification of God's ways in this world, is a common theme. Job, Ecclesiastes,
and most of the Wisdom Psalms are reflective in nature.