What Is The Source Of Our Wisdom?

Psalm 111

Wisdom is a very admired commodity, and most of us would like to have a good measure of it.  It’s important to be sure that one is seeking wisdom from the right sources. God identifies in His Word two sources of wisdom - the wisdom that comes from the world, and wisdom that comes from God (I Corinthians 1:19-25).  As believers and followers of the Lord Jesus, we have a choice to make. Are we going to follow after the wisdom of this world and what it has to offer, or that of God?

The wisdom of this world that we’re talking about here is not just getting an education at a university.  It is the philosophy and the values that the world puts forth that is in opposition to that of God and His Word.  The wisdom of this world tells you to put yourself first, doing whatever feels good and makes you happy, regardless of the consequences to yourself or others. “Eat, drink, and be merry.” “You only live once, so go for all you can get!” In business it tells us to put financial profits above everything and everyone else. The entertainment world pushes everything vile and vulgar, so much so that it isn’t even considered shocking anymore.  Years ago we could see on television families saying grace at the dinner table, or a mother giving godly, Biblical counsel to her young son. Today on television, Christians and the Bible are openly mocked and ridiculed. Our secular educational system teaches values that are contrary to God’s order, from the kindergarten class all the way through the university level.

Are we going to seek our wisdom from the world, or are we going to seek it from God?  For those who have given their lives to Him, we should look to see where He says true wisdom can be found.  Verse 10 of our psalm today says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. When we fear the Lord we will be on the correct path to gaining His wisdom.

What exactly is the “fear of the Lord”?  It is a reverential awe of God. It is a healthy respect for God’s power, and submission to His authority.  When we fear God we will have respect for His commandments. We will learn what pleases Him, and then do what pleases Him.  When we have a proper fear of God, it is a joy to obey Him. Verse 10 of our Psalm, and also in Proverbs 1:7 we read that to be truly wise one must fear or revere God.

The inventor or designer of a machine knows best how it works and operates. The author of a book knows best what his story is all about. The same with someone who writes a song or paints a work of art. God is the Creator and Designer of the universe, our world, and all of creation, so it only makes sense that He alone is the source of all true wisdom.   We cannot be wise by academic knowledge or by personal experience alone. God is the source of true wisdom.

The best way to start on the path of gaining this true wisdom from the Lord is by studying His works (vs. 2), and to do that one must get into His Word, the Bible.  When we love the Lord we will want to be in His Word, studying all there is to know about Him.

Our psalm today mentions how God has redeemed His people (vs. 9), which is the greatest work of the Lord that we read about in His Word.  Redemption means to recover something or someone following the payment of a ransom. All people are held in slavery by sin. Jesus paid the price to free us.  He gave His life as a sacrifice, paying for us with His Precious Blood.

That is one thing that those who hold to the wisdom of this world mock and ridicule the most.  The Blood of Jesus is mocked and maligned by this world and its philosophies. That, however, is where true wisdom lies.  As Paul tells us, God’s wisdom is in the cross of Jesus, and the Blood He shed there (I Corinthians 1:18, 23). By developing a reverential fear of the Lord, studying His Word, and putting our faith and trust in the Blood of Jesus, we can find true wisdom.