I’ve been searching for an answer to the question – “Where did all the wisdom go?” I can’t seem to find it anywhere and I’m afraid that it’s left our planet! Synonyms for wisdom include: understanding, insight, astuteness and prudence. Our country and our states used to be lead by people who seemed to have a great deal of wisdom. As an elected local government leader, I can see wisdom at work first hand. Local government is closest to the people and it deals with the problems and needs that people experience daily. Few people in our city are affected by decisions of the U.S. Dept. of Education but change the boundaries of where kids will go to school and you will see people cram into meeting rooms.

So back to wisdom, what happened? Our elected leaders seem to have forgotten who and what they are supposed to do. Look carefully at what they say or what they don’t and you will see decisions based more on ideology and party than on doing what is best for the people. Few are looking down the road at what the unintended consequences might be of making a decision. Even the average person has started to lose their wisdom. We hang on to the few sound bites we hear and believe them to be fact. Fake news is springing up all around us because we want to believe everything that we read. I’d suggest that wisdom has been lost by our desire for instant information no matter the source. In the old days, something became news when it corroborated by a second source. I guess the point of my first ever “rant” is that we all need to be protecting our own wisdom by expanding our sources and looking at the bigger picture.

“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; ⁴ through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” Proverbs 24:3-4

What a great way to describe our journey with God. We start to build our relationship with God by having the wisdom to answer His call and establishing the structure to hear His word. We move into the next phase of our relationship by taking God’s word and applying it to our lives. We attend church services, listen to the bible verses being read and say the prayers and creeds to profess our faith. We begin to understand what He wants us to do; we follow His teachings and go about our daily lives.

We think this obedience is what God wants us to do and it is here at the intersection of obedience and understanding where most people coast though their journey. At this point the house is built and the relationship is been established, but God is telling us that something is still missing. Imagine your house – a structure (wisdom), it’s occupied (understanding) but without love (knowledge) its not really ever filled. Seek to fill your relationship with God with the knowledge of His word through regular devotional reading, bible study and the active application of that knowledge in your life. Fill your life with His rare and beautiful treasures.