What Is Wisdom, and How Do I Acquire It?

Definition of Wisdom

In a world awash with information, we as believers desperately need wisdom. But what is it exactly? That is a surprisingly difficult question to answer simply. Based on the Bible, we can define wisdom as the ability to discern good from evil and apply knowledge, skill, and experience in order to live in right relationship with God and others within the world that God made. Let’s briefly unpack the elements of this definition.

Discern good from evil. Discernment refers to making distinctions. The most fundamental distinction is between good and evil, right and wrong. Yet oftentimes the hardest distinctions to make are between good, better, and best. Wisdom is the ability to make such distinctions, especially when the issue at hand is not one of obvious right from wrong.

Apply knowledge, skill, and experience. Wisdom is based on knowledge but goes beyond it. Skill refers to abilities that one acquires over an extended period of time. Experience provides necessary perspective, enabling one to interpret one’s present circumstances in light of insights gained from the past. Wisdom is the ability to weigh and combine these realities to determine the best course of action. By its very nature, wisdom is something that manifests itself in action.

Live in right relationship with God and others. Wisdom is a relational concept. It is meant to infuse the way we relate to God. It means ordering our lives in a way that is consistent with God and his ways. Wisdom should also characterize the way we interact with those around us (Eph. 5:15).

Within the world that God made. Because an all-wise God made the world, the way that it operates reflects his wisdom. Wisdom is necessary to live in a way that is consistent with both how God made the world and how it has been affected by sin and the curse. While there is much more that could be said about the nature of wisdom, this working definition provides us with a good starting point. But first we need to answer the question “Where does wisdom come from?”

Source of Wisdom

Scripture is unambiguous when it comes to the starting point for pursuing wisdom:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
     and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Prov. 9:10)

Similar statements are found numerous times in Scripture. Here is just a sampling:

And he said to man, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
     and to turn away from evil is understanding.” (Job 28:28)

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
     all those who practice it have a good understanding.
     His praise endures forever! (Ps. 111:10)

Although each of these texts has its own nuance, the general principle is clear: From a biblical perspective, the fear of the Lord is the starting point for gaining wisdom.

Proverbs 2 provides a window into the nature, source, and outcome of wisdom. Framed as a father speaking to his son, Solomon personifies wisdom as a woman to be pursued:

My son, if you receive my words
     and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
     and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
     and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
     and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
     and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
     from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
     he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
     and watching over the way of his saints. (Prov. 2:1–8)

The first thing to observe is that wisdom must be pursued; it is not something that we possess by default. Notice the different actions that Solomon calls forth: make your ear attentive, incline your heart, call out, raise your voice, seek, and search. At the same time, Solomon is unambiguous that God is the source of wisdom. He alone is the one who gives it. Indeed, he has it stored up for the upright. The remainder of Proverbs 2 spells out the various blessings that wisdom bestows on those who possess her: righteousness, justice, equity, and discretion (Prov. 2:9–11); deliverance from wicked ways and people (Prov. 2:12–15); deliverance from the forbidden woman (Prov. 2:16–19); and a righteous path to walk on and land to inhabit for the upright (Prov. 2:20–22).

Wisdom must be pursued; it is not something that we possess by default.

That the fear of the Lord is the starting point for wisdom does not mean that unbelievers are incapable of discerning and doing what is wise in any situation. God has made the world in such a way that “his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Rom. 1:20). Proverbs is filled with statements that even the most hardened atheist can recognize as wise. The issue is not that unbelievers cannot recognize wisdom but rather that the rebellious human heart suppresses what creation reveals about God:

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Rom. 1:21–23)

As a result of suppressing what can be learned about God from creation (and certainly Scripture as well), the unbeliever’s mind descends into futility, darkened by the foolish refusal to recognize God as God. This futility leads to the ultimate inversion. Though unbelievers think they are wise in their own eyes, they demonstrate by their actions that they are fools instead. The inevitable result of such deeply entrenched folly is idolatry—elevating anything or anyone (including oneself) above God.

Thus Romans 1 helps us understand why the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. To fear the Lord is to give him the honor and glory that he deserves as the all-knowing, all-wise Creator and to submit oneself to him in all areas of life. Fearing the Lord means recognizing that God is the source of all wisdom. Missing the mark on this fundamental reality leads to a disordered life.

This article is adapted from The Wisdom of God: Revealed, Reviled, and Reverberated by Matthew S. Harmon.

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