Seek Wisdom

Hello October!!!  I love this time of year, but I'm decorating quite as much as I normally would due to just moving into our new house.  But, I wanted to have just a few of my Halloween things out so I went searching through my boxes and pulled out just a few items.  In the process of unpacking and doing a little decorating for the season, I have come to one conclusion: My house is flooded with owls.  The collage above doesn't even begin to do justice to the number of owls in my house.  And, this time of year, Halloween time that is, the number tends to increase.  There are cups, and shirts and post-it notes.  There are magnets and figurines, and cookie jars.  There tons of owls in my house and there is one main reason for it.  FFA.  I spent 11 years total in the FFA during my lifetime.  I was a member as a middle and high school student.  Then when I became an Agriscience Teacher I was the advisor.  In the FFA there are symbols for each other officer positions.  The Advisor's symbol is the owl.  Each officer also has their own little mini-speech to give at the beginning of each FFA meeting, and this is what I had to say,

"Here, by the owl.  The owl is a time-honored emblem of knowledge and wisdom.  Being older than the rest of you, I'm asked to advise you from time to time as the need arises.  I hope that my advice is based on true knowledge and ripened with wisdom."

When you are the advisor for the FFA the gifts seem to pick themselves out.  I was so blessed to have students that wanted to give me tokens of their appreciation, and I loved that the owl made them think of me.  One year for my birthday I received the most precious pair of wooden owl carved earrings.  All of these owls are so special to me.  But, not all of them are from former students.  As more owls were given to me, it kind of became a theme in my life.  My husband, my sister, my friends would all give me owl gifts on different occasions.  What a wonderful image to have others associated with me.  The owl symbolizes wisdom.   

I took those words seriously.  I was called on to give my middle school students advice often, and I always wanted to give the best advice I could.  The part of the advisor also raises an important question.  What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom?  

As Christians, we are called to be wise in our daily living.  When we are seeking true knowledge and wisdom, the best place to start is the Bible.  That's where God lays out for us what knowledge and wisdom are and how to get them.  And, if you are looking for God thinks about knowledge and wisdom, the best place to start is in Proverbs.  It's full of great tidbits of knowledge that you can seek God's wisdom about.  It also outlines what knowledge and wisdom are.  

"Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 1:7

Solomon is the author of most of the book of Proverbs, and He was gifted by God with understanding and discernment according to 1 Kings 3.  So, with understanding and discernment from God, Solomon tells us that true knowledge comes from fearing the LORD.  This is deep reverence for who God is and what He is capable of.  It also means that there is an understanding that we do not know everything because we can't possibly know everything that God knows.  

Chapter 2 of Proverbs tells us to seek out wisdom and understanding.  We cannot hope to live lives that are pleasing to God if we do not seek to understand what God wants from us.  That means gaining knowledge, understanding, and wisdom from the Word of God.  The descriptions of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding fill the pages of Proverbs.  Check them all out for yourself and ask God for discernment to see His truth.

What I want to discuss today is the difference between knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.  I believe that they are three different things.  The three words build on one another.  Knowledge is the base of the triangle.  It's the broad basics.  Knowledge is just where we are made aware of a topic and get the facts.  Knowledge is the basics, for example, of knowing that there are right and there are wrong choices in this world. 

From there we build up to understanding.  Understanding is a deeper level of our knowledge.  It's not just that we know that there are right and wrong choices, but we know which choice specifically is right and which is wrong.  

Finally, we come to wisdom.  This is not something that we can obtain on our own.  We have to seek God to give us wisdom.  When we venture into the realm of wisdom we are not just looking for a right choice, but instead, we are looking for God's best choice for us.   I think it looks something like an inverted triangle.  As we dig deeper into who God is and seek His wisdom in our lives, then we pinpoint the best place for us to be.

One of the last gifts that I got as an FFA advisor in Virginia was the sweet figurine of an owl that's in the collage above.  It was an owl with a sign that says seek wisdom and it lists Proverbs 16:16.

"How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver!"

I am so thankful that God gave me the wisdom to teach those students well.  They are growing into the most amazing adults.  I feel so honored to have been a part of that growing up process.  More than that though, I'm so thankful that God gave me the wisdom to share my faith with them.  They knew that a statue with a Bible verse on it would be perfect for me.  They knew that I love owls.  And they knew that I want more for them, so much more, than this world can provide.  As a teacher, in the classroom and now at home, I want to always seek wisdom.  And I want to encourage those around me to dig deeper with God from knowledge to understanding to pinpointing God's best choice for us.  Seek God's Wisdom.