Who’s The Wise Guy?

A man becomes wise by watching what happens to him when he isn’t.  –Lloyd Cory 

"Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom."

-- Terry Pratchett

I asked my friend Jim Powell for a leadership tip recently.  He replied, “Knowledge versus wisdom.”  Jim continued, “We have more knowledge now than ever before.  Most of the world’s knowledge is at our fingertips on our smartphones.  But fewer and fewer people have wisdom.”

Knowledge is knowing what to say. Wisdom is knowing when to say it. Wisdom is also about knowing when and how to use your knowledge, being able to put situations in perspective, and how to impart it to others.

Knowledge is remembering a woman’s birthday.  Wisdom is forgetting her age.

T.S. Eliot inquired, "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?"

Knowledge is merely having clarity of facts and truths, while wisdom is the practical ability to make consistently good decisions in life.

Here is the question: How can we acquire wisdom?  How can we become a wise person?

Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

The first of the wisdom Psalms gives us some suggestions:

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his Law Day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked!  They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.  For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous. –Psalm 1:1-6 (NIV)

How to we become wiser?  Psalms 1 suggest seven questions to help us:

1.  Who are you walking with: the wicked or the wise?

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked… --Psalms 1:1 (NIV)

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.—Proverbs 13:20 (ESV)

Not everyone who spews out advice is wise.  Some are actually wicked.  As parents, we do our best to keep our kids away from these folks.  But do we keep ourselves away from them?

2.  Who are you standing with:  the helpless or the clueless?

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take…--Psalms 1:1 (NIV)

Who are we standing with?  Our contentious age has pushed us to stand up for our side--but sometimes our side is incorrect.  We can point out flaws in the leaders on all political spectrums; we can show clearly where the experts were wrong; and we can detect when everyone is off. 

Maybe we shouldn’t “pick sides,” because someday our side will be mistaken.

3.  Who are you sitting with: mockers or encouragers?

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers…--Psalms 1:1 (NIV)

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.—Proverbs 11:2 (NIV)

The arrogant cannot stand in your presence.—Psalm 5:5 (NIV)

Where are we sitting?  Or better, at whose side or feet are we sitting?  It is easy to join in with mockers.  Some people seem to be asking for mocking! 

“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have preferred to talk.”--Doug Larson

4.  What are you delighting in:  the trivial or the eternal?

…but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, —Psalm 1:3 (NIV)

Paul Harvey revealed, "Men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself but because it contradicts them."

It's possible to get an "A" in Bible and flunk Christianity.--Fred Craddock

"The Scriptures were not given to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives." —Dwight L. Moody

5.  What are you thinking about:  fear or faith?

…but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his Law Day and night. —Psalm 1:3 (NIV)

"Sometimes the worst place you can be is in your own head."

“Most people’s thinking ability is limited. But there’s a dimension of thinking called Thinking About Your Thinking where you step back and observe your own mind.”  “What am I thinking about right now?” …It was six months into this fascinating series of experiences that I finally had the breakthrough. I asked myself, “What am I thinking about right now?” and as soon as I answered, I could do magic. Just like that, I was observing myself thinking. Just by asking this one simple question, I could transport myself so that I could see things differently.—Dan Sullivan

6.  Where are you planted: the desert or river?

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. —Psalm 1:3 (NIV)

Are the people you are looking to for coaching or consulting life=giving or life-sucking?

Wise people plant themselves around even wiser folks.

7.  Who is watching over you:  no one or God?

Not so the wicked!  They are like chaff that the wind blows away.  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.  For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous. –Psalm 1:4-6 (NIV)

For the Lord gives wisdom… --Proverbs 2:6 (NIV)

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. –James 1:5 (NIV)

Wisdom comes from God, and from his godly people.