Proverbs 1:5. Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
The word learning that Solomon uses here means to study something. What are you a student of?
As we’ve already said, it is quite possible to gain much knowledge and still not be wise. As a school teacher, I’ve worked alongside other teachers with PhDs who couldn’t relate to their students or control a classroom. They had knowledge, but not wisdom.
So yes, you can have knowledge without wisdom, but you can’t have wisdom without knowledge. To be wise we must increase in learning. You have to desire to learn new things. To be wise you have to increase in your knowledge of God, of others, of yourself, of life and death, of hate and love, of good and evil. As Peter exhorts his readers, “Grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
But again, knowledge is only the beginning. The wise person must be able to take everything they are learning and use it in not only good ways, but the BEST ways. The ways that will help others the most. That’s wisdom – navigating the complexities of life with not only the good, but the best.
Christ in us offers us the best. Faith in Christ is not only a good option, it’s the best option. Why? Because it is truly the only good option. Every philosopher, dating back to Plato, will tell you that for something to be good it must be perfect, eternal, and unending. Christ in you is the only thing in your life today that can check all of those boxes. He is best, because he alone is good.
Luke 18:19. No one is good except God alone.
Are you learning Christ. Not just ABOUT Christ. Yes, for sure start there. But go beyond mere head knowledge to learn what trust in Christ looks like moment by moment, with every part of your life. Yes, learn about how Jesus lived, but then learn how to live like Jesus. That’s wisdom.
In Christ: Besides reading this devotional (a good start), what are you doing to learn about your position in Christ?
Christ in you: Are you offering others the good or the best? Christ’s teachings (the good) or Christ himself (the best)?
Pray: Father, I want to learn about you, but more importantly teach me to trust you just as Jesus did. Jesus, work out your faith through my faith, and in so doing give me increased understanding of your world. Amen.
To Live is Christ 