“How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!”

               -Proverbs 16:16

My Bible reading this week  has found me in the book of I Kings reading the story of Solomon. Of course, with him being the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 3:12), it’s difficult to read his story without giving careful consideration to the concept of wisdom and how we as Christians should continually be seeking after it (Colossians 1:9). Questions like, “What is wisdom?”, “How do I get it?”, and “Why is it important?” are all bound to float through our mind at some point during our life, and no person better answered these questions than Solomon.

Solomon’s life taught us many things, including the fact that wisdom and knowledge are two completely different things. Growing up surrounded by the royalties of ancient Israel no doubt left him with a great amount of knowledge concerning laws, customs, and a multitude of other things. Nevertheless, when God gave him the opportunity to ask for anything his heart desired, his wish was not for riches or fame; rather, he desired wisdom: the ability to apply his knowledge properly. (2 Chronicles 1:7-12).

Though knowledge is often mistaken for wisdom, I’ve known many intelligent people who, quite simply, were not wise. They could tell me random facts about how the universe operates and the intricate facets of advanced math and science, but when it came to things of eternal importance they didn’t have a clue. That might sound a bit rude, but the truth of the matter is that an abundance of knowledge doesn’t necessarily indicate wisdom. On the other hand, however, wisdom is unattainable without knowledge. Wisdom to apply the Word of God is impossible without a knowledge of the Scripture itself, just as a pilot must know what all the different buttons and meters on a plane do before being able to maneuver it skillfully through a  thunderstorm or land it smoothly on a strip of pavement.

Wisdom will never be spotted apart from knowledge, but all to often we find knowledge alone and without its counterpart. For every ounce of knowledge, we should have an equal amount of wisdom to go along with it. It is then, and only then, that we will be able to please God to our fullest potential.