Good or Godly Wisdom?
24Have you ever made a decision and then wondered if it was good or godly wisdom that motivated you? Maybe you carried out an action plan based on the decision, and then discovered new information that made you wish you had never made the decision? You thought it was a good decision at the time, but it turned out not to be the best decision. There is a vast difference between having good human thinking and godly wisdom. If you are not walking in the Spirit your thinking will simply be the best human thinking possible at the moment.
What Kind of Wisdom?
The world has all kinds of wisdom and much of it works. The question should not only be does it work, but is it godly wisdom. One man said, “A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountaintop.” While that may be true, does Scripture give a deeper insight? Yes. Proverbs gives incredible insight to godly wisdom versus the thinking of a fool. Comparing things of the world to spiritual things reveals what kind of wisdom is being considered.
Children often do not see the wisdom of their parents. Parents tend to see more clearly than children how to make right judgments. Sometimes, parents watch their children make decisions and think, “What were they thinking?” Yet, when parents think back to their youth, they remember that they acted the same way. When children become responsible adults, it seems as though mom and dad are quickly transformed into intelligent people! It is amazing what a different perspective of life does to change your thinking.
Mark Twain once said, “When I was fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around, but when I got to be twenty-one I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”
In 1 Corinthians 2:13, Paul said, “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” If you make a decision while walking in the flesh, you will simply be comparing your best thinking with spiritual truth. Human thinking and spiritual truth often do not agree.
Decisions Based on Scripture
The truth of Scripture is clear to a Spirit-controlled believer–it makes sense. While the biblical truth is not difficult to understand, practicing the truth can be. Do we observe, practice, and apply what God instructs through His Word? Or, do we know more about the Bible than what we practice?
Often the people of the Old Testament made poor decisions. God provided everything they needed and He was their leader. He also appointed a spiritual leader over the people. They had all of the resources of God and yet many times came to the wrong conclusion. We often walk out of the presence of God in a worship experience and walk right into a situation that requires a major choice. Be careful, you may rely upon your ability to think instead of relying on Godly wisdom–just like His people did in the Old Testament.
Choosing good wisdom instead of godly wisdom is easy to do. Why? Because good does not seem bad. While it is true that good is not bad, it is not necessarily godly either. Good decisions are often influenced by the desire to be approved by other people. The acceptance factor blinds one from considering if the decision is approved by God. Make sure you are making godly decisions, not merely good decisions!
*Adapted from the book, The Christian Life: A Human Impossibility, copyright 2012