wisdom

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Introduction

For the past two months we’ve been talking about wisdom as we’ve studied the book of Proverbs together. We’ve talked about what wisdom is (it’s the ability to live life skillfully), we’ve talked about where wisdom is found (it is found only in Jesus Christ who is the source of all wisdom), and we’ve talked about the many ways it shows itself in our practical, everyday lives (in our speech, in our love life, in our work, in our finances, in our attitude). Tonight we’re going to conclude our study on wisdom by asking one more question. Now that you’ve heard all of this information about wisdom what are you supposed to do with it? Now that you’ve gained all of this information on wisdom what are you supposed to do with it? The answer is: you are supposed to treasure it. We’ve seen that wisdom is more valuable than education, it’s more valuable than intelligence, it’s more valuable than great wealth, it’s’ more valuable than all of the possessions in the world. This wisdom, which we have been given through the Scriptures, is to be treasured.

This means, first, that we are to hold it tightly and never let it go. That’s what we do with the things we treasure. When my daughter gets a new toy she will hold it in her clutches day and night. She’ll sleep with it. If she gets up in the middle of the night she’ll take it into the other room with her. She’ll set it at the kitchen table while she eats dinner. She’ll do this because she treasures her new toy. How much more should we hold tightly to the wisdom that the God of the Universe has freely given to us through Jesus, wisdom that we could never acquire on our own?

The wisdom that has been given to us through faith in Jesus Christ is to be treasured and held tightly. It is also to be used and used a lot. When I was in high school my greatest treasure was my walkman. I wore that walkman everywhere. And I used it constantly. I don’t think anyone spoke a word to me throughout four whole years of high-school because they knew I couldn’t hear them anyway. I was too busy listening to Nas, Blackstreet, BBD, and Mobb Deep. I used that thing so much that I ran through batteries quicker than J. Lo ran through male celebrities. To this day I run into people that I haven’t seen since high-school and they remember me as the guy who always had the headphones on. They also remember me as the geeky kid who was too shy to talk to anyone, but that’s beside the point. The point is that I treasured my walkman and I put it to use constantly. We’re to do the same with the wisdom we’ve been given through Jesus Christ. When I say we need to hold tight to wisdom that doesn’t mean that we keep it in a package and just look at it like an old Star Wars figure. No, it means we hold it so closely that it is a part of everything we think, everything we say, and everything we do.

What are we supposed to do with the wisdom we’ve been given? We’re supposed to treasure it, which means we’re supposed to hold it closely and use it constantly. But that’s not all. When we treasure wisdom we will also want to show that wisdom to everyone else. That’s what we do with the things we treasure. We can’t wait to show our treasure to everyone else. When I was a kid I treasured my George Brett autographed baseball above all else and my mission was to show it off to everyone. Now that I’m an adult I treasure my wife and because I treasure her I get excited by every opportunity I have to talk about her and to introduce to new people. You know what I mean. When you eat at a really great restaurant you make it a point to tell everyone about it. When you see a movie that impacts you, or discover a piece of music that truly moves you, you go out of your way to expose your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers to the same thing.

When we treasure wisdom we will want to show it to everyone we know. And that’s not supposed to be a task any more than telling someone about your favorite TV show is a task. It’s supposed to be a joy. And it can be. When we treasure wisdom, when we hold it tightly, when we put it to use, we will find ourselves excited about sharing our treasure with others. After all, that’s how the book of Proverbs was written in the first place. The wise father wanted nothing more than to share wisdom with those close to him. Is that something you’re doing already? Is that something you’d like to do? If so, the book of Proverbs can help you by offering you direction and encouragement.

 

Wisdom Wants to Be Shared

First, Proverbs helps us by showing us that wisdom wants to be shared. It is in her very nature. Let’s look at Proverbs 8:1-11.

“Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance, she cries aloud: “To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all humankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it. Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. To the discerning all of them are right; they are upright to those who have found knowledge. Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.” – Prov 8:1-11

Wisdom wants to be shared. Wisdom calls out to the simple and the foolish, she invites them to herself, she calls them to pursue her and to listen to her. And she uses human messengers to do this. Wisdom wants to be shared and she uses human messengers to bring her to others just as she does in the book of Proverbs; she uses the human author of Proverbs to share wisdom with his sons and with us. Of course you and I know this from experience. The only reason any one of us knows about wisdom, the only reason any one of us has heard about the fear of the Lord, is because wisdom shared herself with us through a human messenger. And why did that human messenger choose to share this wisdom with us? Why did that human messenger choose to share Jesus, the source of all wisdom, with us? Is it because they were braver than we are? Is it because they know more than we know? Is it because they care less about people liking them other than we do? No. It’s none of the above. The reason that your human messenger was able to share wisdom with you is because they were moved to share wisdom with you.

Remember, wisdom wants to be shared. She wants to call out to the simple and the foolish. So if you possess wisdom you will also be possessed by wisdom and she will move you toward her goal — which is to call others to herself. I just spent some time in several airports this past week and while there is a lot of stuff about airports that I don’t like there is one part of airports that I love…the people-mover. I love the people-mover. I love that I can just stand still on a metal slab and without moving a muscle I can turn a 2 minute walk into a 20 second ride. Well, wisdom is like a people-mover. If you are on the path of wisdom she will move you toward her destination, which is to share wisdom with others.

See, if you are wise, if you fear the Lord, you don’t have to try to convince yourself that evangelism is a good idea. You don’t have to try to muster up the desire to tell people about Jesus. If you are wise, if you fear the Lord, you already have that desire. First, because you can’t help but want to tell people about the thing you treasure most. Second, because wisdom herself wants to be shared and she moves you accordingly. That doesn’t mean that you’ve perfected how to do it. But you want to do it. You want to share wisdom with others, you are being moved in the right direction. And we should start by thanking God for graciously giving us this desire, even if we haven’t yet put it into practice as often as we should. Thank God for giving us wisdom and for giving us the desire to share that wisdom with others.

 

The Wise Share Wisdom Graciously

And this leads us to a second point Proverbs makes about sharing wisdom. The wise share wisdom graciously.

“The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent, and their lips promote instruction.” – Prov 16:23

“The wise in heart are called discerning, and gracious words promote instruction.” – Prov 16:21

Because we have been freely given wisdom through Jesus Christ, because wisdom herself gives us the desire to share wisdom, we are moved not only to share this wisdom but to share this wisdom graciously. The wise don’t share wisdom in arrogance. They don’t say, “Hey, look what I have. You should listen to me so that you can have what I have.” The wise don’t share wisdom in judgment. They don’t say, “Something must be wrong with you. Why can’t you be more like me and believe this or do that?” No, wise people share wisdom graciously. They recognize that they didn’t find this wisdom on their own. God freely gave it to them through Jesus Christ. So the wise don’t share wisdom like a motivational speaker, or a rock star, or a politician. The wise share their wisdom like a homeless beggar. If we are wise we will share the wisdom we have like one homeless beggar speaking to another homeless beggar. “Brother, I know a place where food is given freely to all who ask.” “Sister, come with me to the one who will satisfy all of your hunger in exchange for nothing. He fed me. He will feed you, too.”

Wisdom wants to be shared. Those who are wise share their wisdom and they share it graciously. This means that the wise share wisdom in two ways. They share it through declaration and they share it through demonstration. They declare their wisdom as they instruct others in its ways. This means they tell people where to find wisdom (in Jesus Christ alone) and how to receive that wisdom (through faith alone). Remember, wise people declare this message because wisdom herself moves them to and because they cannot help but want to share their greatest treasure with others. But wise people don’t just tell people about wisdom, they show people wisdom. They don’t just declare wisdom, they demonstrate wisdom. They do this by declaring wisdom in humility, in patience, in generosity, and in all of the characteristics that wisdom produces. This makes the listener more likely to take interest in the declared message of wisdom. It also provides them a desirable picture of its relevance and its reality. Wisdom that is declared and not demonstrated is not true wisdom. Wisdom that is demonstrated and not declared is not true wisdom. The two must go together because their source is Jesus Christ who is the embodiment of wisdom declared and wisdom demonstrated.

 

Wisdom Shared is Good for the Speaker and Hearer

If we are wise we are called to share our treasure. The wisdom in us moves us to do so by sharing wisdom graciously, by declaring and demonstrating its truth. You can call this evangelism if you want. You can call this preaching the gospel if you want. Whatever you call it it is wisdom. And wisdom is nothing to run from, she is nothing to be afraid of. And this brings us to Proverbs’ next point about sharing your treasure. Wisdom shared is good for both the speaker and the hearer.

“A person finds joy in giving an apt reply-and how good is a timely word!” – Prov 15:23

“The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.” – Prov 13:14

The first proverb tells us that there is joy in speaking the right word at the right time. There is joy for you as you share your treasure, your wisdom, with others. This joy is not contingent on how the other person responds. The joy comes from sharing the treasure regardless of how the other party responds. We feel some measure of joy when we talk about our treasured sports team or our treasured movie. We feel some measure of joy when we talk about our treasured music or our treasured home. We feel some measure of joy when we talk about our treasured children or our treasured significant other. In the same way you will find great joy in talking about wisdom, in talking about Jesus, no matter how people may respond. Your joy is not based on their response. Your joy is in the treasure itself and you can’t help but talk about it. And when you talk about it you can’t help but be overcome by great delight. If you don’t believe me I dare you to try it.

Wisdom shared is good for the speaker, it brings us joy. Wisdom is also good for the hearer. That’s what the second proverb makes clear. Shared wisdom is like a fountain of life that turns someone from the snares of death. Many of us know this first-hand because many of us have been rescued from the snares of death because someone else chose to share their wisdom with us. That’s certainly the case for me. I didn’t want to hear wisdom, I didn’t want to hear about Jesus, any more than your friends, your family, or your neighbors. But when a man shared his wisdom with me it was like a fountain of life that I could not help but drink from. It quenched a thirst I did not even know I had. It provided sustenance I did not even know I needed. And it freed me from the snares of death I did not even know I was trapped in. His shared wisdom was good for me in the truest sense of the word. Many of you have had this same experience. You have experienced the greatest good, good beyond your wildest imagination, as the result of someone else sharing wisdom with you. Having received this good how can we do anything other than share this with others? If we knew where to find unlimited treasure we wouldn’t hide that information from others. If we knew where to get free food we wouldn’t keep that to ourselves. If we know where to find the fountain of life we wouldn’t keep its location a secret.  Well, we do know where to find those things. And if we are wise we will be moved by wisdom to graciously tell others where these things are found…in Jesus.

 

Their Receptiveness is a Reflection of Their Wisdom, Not Yours

The wise share wisdom because wisdom moves them to. As they share that wisdom they share it graciously. And this is good both for them and for those who listen to them. Proverbs makes this clear. And our experience confirms it. But the truth of the matter is that some of us still fear it. We want to share wisdom, we know it’s good for us and for the people we speak to, but we are afraid. We are afraid that we’ll say something wrong. We’re afraid that we’ll offend the other person. We’re afraid the other person will think less of us. We’re afraid that things won’t go smoothly. What if they don’t want to hear the message? What if they reject it? What if in one way or another I fail? Questions like these often keep us from sharing wisdom as we should. But they shouldn’t. Because these questions are based on a false and inaccurate view of the world. They’re based on a false view of the world that judges our wisdom or our success by how people respond to us. But this is a backwards view of the world. Proverbs gives us the proper view of the world. Proverbs tells us that it is not our wisdom that determines their response. Rather, it is their wisdom that determines their response.

“Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.” – Prov 9:9

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” – Prov 1:7

As you share wisdom with someone their receptiveness is a reflection of their wisdom, not yours. If they listen to you and follow you to the path of wisdom they are wise. But if they reject you it is because they are foolish. They don’t reject you because there’s something wrong with you, they reject you because they reject wisdom and they reject wisdom because they reject the Lord. It’s not about you! It’s not about you at all! It’s about them and their hostility with God. You can be the wisest, most articulate, most passionate, most persuasive person in all the world. But if they love foolishness you will not persuade them. The fact that they reject you or your message says nothing about how well you have done at declaring and demonstrating wisdom and it says everything about the foolishness they treasure in their hearts. It’s not about you. It’s about them and their hostility with God. This is how things are. And this right and proper view of how things are is liberating. It frees us from our fears of rejection and our fears of failure. It frees us to share wisdom and to share wisdom graciously knowing that this person’s response says everything about them and nothing about us.

 

Only the Lord Can Grant Wisdom

All of this has been tremendously helpful for me as I have grown in sharing gospel wisdom with others. It’s been helpful for me to understand that wisdom wants to be shared. I want to share wisdom not because I have mustered up some passion for evangelism but because I am God’s child. And because I am God’s child he has given me his wisdom and it is his wisdom that pushes me toward evangelism just like the people mover at the airport pushes me toward where it pleases. It’s also been helpful for me to understand that wisdom shared graciously is good both for me and for the person I’m sharing it with. Sharing the wisdom of God is not a burdensome task to fear. It is a joy just as we take joy in sharing anything we treasure with someone else. It’s also been especially helpful to understand that when people reject this shared treasure they’re not rejecting me, they’re rejecting God; it’s not a reflection of my wisdom but of their foolishness. Having this Biblically shaped worldview of evangelism has made evangelism something I actually look forward to instead of something I dread. That’s not to say that I always feel comfortable doing it. I don’t. But it is to say that I always feel safe and secure doing it. And here’s why. In addition to all of the things we’ve mentioned so far Proverbs also assures us that only the Lord grants wisdom.

“For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” – Prov 2:6

It is the Lord who gives wisdom. It is only the Lord who gives wisdom. As we share wisdom with people, as we evangelize, it is not our job to convince them, it is not our job to convert them. Even if we wanted to do those things we don’t have the ability to do those things. It is the Lord who gives wisdom. Think about the implications of that. If you believe that (and you should because the entire Bible confirms it) if you believe that it will completely transform your attitude toward evangelism. Completely. First, this means that the pressure is off of you. You are not responsible for converting your neighbor, or convincing your friend. Your only responsibility is to share and to share graciously. Second, this means that there is not a single person you encounter who is hopeless. If it is God who gives wisdom and God alone who gives wisdom then there is hope for everyone, no matter how far from wisdom they may seem. There is hope for the crackhead around the corner. There is hope for the atheist you work with. There is hope for the disinterested agnostic that you go to school with. There is hope for the rude and obnoxious neighbor next door. There is hope for the family member who makes fun of your beliefs. There is hope for the religious person who seems to be stuck in their tradition. There is hope for everyone you know. Which means you are free to go and share wisdom with everyone you know, without pressure, knowing that God can and will give wisdom to whomever he chooses and he has chosen to use you to do so.

This is what he did with you, isn’t it? You were just as far from God and his wisdom as your neighbor, and your friend, and your co-worker. You were just as far from God as every non-Christian you know. I hope you don’t think that because you grew up in the church, or because your parents are Christians, or because you are an American you somehow were more likely to choose wisdom than the next guy. Thousands, and thousands, and hundreds of thousands of people grow up in the same environment as you and reject God and his wisdom altogether. If you are here tonight as one who follows Jesus Christ there is only one explanation: God gave you wisdom. God gave you wisdom. Without any help from your environment God gave you wisdom. Without any help from you God gave you wisdom. If you are here tonight as a worshiper of Jesus Christ it is because God gave you wisdom.

God gave you wisdom. He had to. He had to because left to yourself you would never find it. No, actually, your predicament was far worse than that. Left to yourself you would never even look for it. No, wait, your predicament was even worse than that. Left to yourself you would run from it. And you did. You did run from wisdom. Because you loved foolishness. You loved foolishness. You loved sin. You loved doing what you want, how you want. You loved living for you. You loved doing bad things because of how it benefited you. You even loved doing good things because of how it benefited you. Everything you thought, everything you said, everything you did – from the worst thing to the best thing – everything flowed out of the self-serving motives of your own foolish heart. You couldn’t find wisdom. You wouldn’t even look for wisdom. You ran from wisdom and embraced foolishness as the love of your life. Brothers and sisters you would still be dead in your self-serving foolishness if it were not for God choosing to give wisdom to you.

And how did he do that? He gave wisdom to you by first giving wisdom for you. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, the source of all wisdom, into a world of foolishness. And when he came to this world of foolishness Jesus Christ lived the life of wisdom in your place. And because Jesus, being wisdom himself, came into a world of foolishness the world hated him. Foolish people rejected him, cursed him, beat him, and murdered him. And we were with those people. We were with them rejecting wisdom, cursing wisdom, beating wisdom, and murdering wisdom because we loved our foolishness. Because Jesus hated foolishness we hated him. But Jesus did not hate us. Jesus hated our foolishness but he did not hate the foolish. Instead, he died for the foolish so that we could become wise. As we drove the nails into his wrists he was willfully taking our foolishness upon himself. And then, as he hung naked from the cross, he not only took our foolishness, he took the punishment for our foolishness. He took the wrath of God that belonged on you and received its fullness upon himself. Three days later he rose from the dead so that foolishness could no longer hold power over God’s people. This is the only way that you could ever receive wisdom. Because God gave wisdom for you.

But it doesn’t stop there. God also gave wisdom to you. Even if you knew every detail of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection; even if you knew the content of the gospel message inside and out; you would still reject it, you would still run from this glorious wisdom, because of your deep love for foolishness. Your only hope to ever become wise was if God gave wisdom to you so that you could believe in the wisdom he gave for you. And if you are a worshiper of Jesus Christ that is exactly what has happened. You have become wise. Not because of any intelligence or effort of your own. But because God gave wisdom for you and then gave wisdom to you. This is why you treasure wisdom so. You treasure wisdom deeply and you treasure wisdom supremely because you see that it is a gift so rare and so difficult to obtain that God himself had to step into human flesh, live, die, rise again, and give you an entirely new heart and an entirely new nature in order for you to have it.

I want you to be silent just for a few moments to think about that. Think about how out of reach this wisdom was. Think about how much this wisdom cost. Think about how glorious this wisdom is. And then try to tell me that you don’t want to share this wisdom with other people. You can’t tell me that. At this moment as you meditate on your greatest treasure and how you have come to receive it you want nothing more than to share this wisdom with other people. Right now, as you think about who Jesus is and who you would be without Jesus, you want to share this wisdom with other people, don’t you? Don’t you? Do you know why? It’s not because I’m a good preacher. It’s not because I’ve stirred up your emotions. It’s not because of the church environment. It’s not because of any of those things. It’s because God’s wisdom lives within you and that wisdom is pushing you to let it out.

For that reason I’m going to ask you to do something right now. I’m going to ask you to do something right now before you can go home and allow yourself to suppress wisdom’s push in you. I want you to think about everything you have planned this week. And I want you to ask yourself, “Have I set aside any time to hang out with any non-Christians this week?” If the answer is no, I want you to schedule something this week. Maybe you need to schedule lunch with a co-worker, or coffee with a friend, or have a neighbor over for dinner. You’ll never be able to share wisdom if you’re not spending time with those who need wisdom. If you already have something scheduled with a non-Christian this week I want you to seek God in prayer right now. Ask him to give you the desire and the opportunity to share your wisdom. This isn’t something you have to force. It’s something that can happen naturally in the flow of conversation. Pray that God will help you to recognize that and that he will help you have intentional spiritual conversations with the non-Christians you’re in relationship with. This isn’t a task. It’s a joy. If you have wisdom you do want to share it with others. Maybe you don’t know exactly how to do it. But you want to do it. So start with the first step, which is spending time with non-Christians. And if you have questions about how to have intentional spiritual conversations with them we’ll be talking about those things together in the weeks to come.