If I knew then what I know now… I would have been a strange kid.  Not that I wasn’t a little quirky to begin with.  You’ve heard that phrase or perhaps even said those words to yourself or someone else…I am certain.  What would you do with that information?  Would you be prepared to handle life with such a depth of wisdom?

Many people confuse knowledge and wisdom.  We can “know” quite a bit of stuff and hide that in our hearts, but that doesn’t necessarily make us any better off.  Wisdom is what happens when we take that knowledge and put it into practice.  Meaning, we learn to apply what we know to the situations we stumble into on a daily basis.

You can study, digest, and regurgitate information all day long, but it doesn’t make you wise.  But for those who have wisdom, it is quickly understood that there is great responsibility to dispensing that wisdom.   Not to mention a very real distinction between being wise in the world and being wise in Faith.

My two favorite books in the Bible are James and Ecclesiastes.  James cuts right through the bull and gives us a plain language glimpse into living bold for Christ Jesus.  In fact, James opens his letter to us and addresses wisdom:

⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
JAMES 1:5-8

I find these words encouraging when dealing with the tough situations that come blowing through my life.  Without fail I can testify that God has provided me with the wisdom sufficient to navigate through those times.

The other favorite read is Ecclesiastes.  I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve read this book of the bible.  It still amazes me that Christians fumble through life wondering what the will of God is… how to be happy… and what the meaning of life is… and it’s all in black and white in Ecclesiastes.  The author is strongly believed to be Solomon, and I read it as such.  You see, Solomon was the wisest man known to mankind.  His story is bathed in pursuit of wisdom.  In the book of Ecclesiastes, you can feel the weight, angst, and burden of him trying to find the meaning of “all of this”.  Like any good book… in concludes with the answers.

Go read it.  It will shed light on why you work yourself to death and what that means.  Personally, I take counsel from Ecclesiastes as one of the wisest men known to mankind has already struggled through this and offers advice.

Christians are supposed to lead.  It is our responsibility.  We are to ask God for wisdom in that leadership, and we are to convert that knowledge of Christ into application of Christ’s teachings to our lives as well as the lives of those around us.

One of my favorite lines from the movies comes from Forrest Gump when he says:

“I may not be a smart man, Jenny… but I know what Love is…”

Wisdom is available to you regardless of your IQ or your ability to learn.  You’ve got to stop living with your head and start living from your heart.  There are mountains of knowledge yet to climb, but it won’t do a damn thing to save your soul.  Knowing all of the intricacies of Christ Jesus’ ministry, what he ate, where he slept is a great pursuit, but it’s not the point.

The point is that we live our lives to the best of our abilities and we draw upon the Holy Spirit to guide us.  We use our experience as our witness to God’s goodness.  We tell others what life means with God in it and how crappy life is or was when you were shutting God out.  Wisdom is being able to share your failures so others may find ways to succeed.

If I knew then what I know now… I wouldn’t be this person today.  I wouldn’t exchange a day for the journey and I certainly don’t want to short circuit God’s plan for my life today.

May you ask God for wisdom in the face of those challenges that lie before you, and believe without wavering that He will provide the answers.  Now follow that up by asking Him for courage to act on that wisdom when it is revealed to you.  If you want to Live Bold… you gotta convert the knowledge to application…easier said than done – believe me.

Peace,
Greg
Acts 4:31
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