Why are we not smart enough to ask for WISDOM???

[Cow Poke]

I’m a “root cause” kind of guy. When I see a problem, I like to figure out its cause.
If you only look at problems, you are in the damage control business.
If you look at the cause, you are in the damage prevention business.

One of the biggest, most glaring problems in the Christian church today is the LACK of WISDOM. But this is one of those “vicious circle” kinds of things. If we lack wisdom, we don’t teach wisdom, and we end up with more problems. The Bible would have us to TEACH Wisdom!

If we are WISE, then we will TEACH by proverbs!
Ecclesiastes 12: 9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

It is one of the few things we’re commanded to “get”. (I’m assuming “pray for”)
(Prov 4:5 KJV) Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
(Prov 4:7 KJV) Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
(Prov 16:16 KJV) How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

Even in the NT we’re told to ask for it if we lack it, and we’re “promised” that it will be provided! (And we won’t be “scolded” for asking!)
(James 1:5 KJV) If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

When God gave Solomon an opportunity to ask for anything he wanted, Solomon asked for Wisdom. BECAUSE he asked for Wisdom, God granted that PLUS a lot of things!
(1 Ki 3:5 KJV) In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee…
And, apparently because he HAD “some wisdom”, Solomon did not ask for riches or wealth or health.
He asked for an understanding heart (wisdom) so he could properly judge (discern) God's people and their problems.
(1 Ki 3:9 KJV) Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
So God granted him wisdom… AND wealth and other good things.


(1 Ki 4:32 KJV) And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.

Now, 851 proverbs are in the BOOK of proverbs, so that leaves 2,150 of the three thousand that are NOT recorded in Proverbs! AND, he wrote over a thousand songs!

We’re not glorifying Solomon – we’re glorifying the GOD of Solomon! (It’s not the great men of God who make a difference – it’s the great God of men!)

So many of us try to operate in this life without really understanding WISDOM. And if we had wisdom, we would probably be able to bypass a lot of the stupid mistakes we make. But God seems to have a sense of humor in this, because even in making mistakes, if we LEARN by those mistakes, we increase in wisdom.

I'm sure we could come up with a lot of different definitions of wisdom, but let me try this one...
It is the ability to see the heart of the problem and solve it with the least amount of disruption or consequence. It is gained by experience, and it is the ability to "apply" the knowledge we acquire. God is able to impart to us "wisdom beyond our years and experience". THIS is the wisdom for which we are told to ask.

If more of our Church leaders would understand that God is providing this quality of “wisdom” available to us, we might bypass a lot of the mistakes we make in ministry. And we might be able to discern the will of God a lot more easily. (And handle church and personal and business problems.)

There are many other thoughts on wisdom, (For example - Wisdom is almost always referred to as "she", while the Holy Spirit is "He"... so between Wisdom and the Holy Spirit, we have an opportunity to be guided by excellence! Wisdom, in Proverbs, is almost treated as "the wise old grandmother" who tries to keep us out of trouble.) but I’ll conclude with this one: Wisdom seems to have the unique ability to help us avoid the law of unintended consequences! There are a lot of things we do that SEEM to be “the right thing to do at the time”, only to discover later that we have created new problems. Wisdom would be more likely to solve a problem correctly the first time, with the least negative impact.

“Book learning” is good.
“Street Smarts” is good.
The “School of Hard Knocks” is a great, albeit not so merciful, teacher.
“Experience” is good, but often indicates we had to learn “the hard way”.

But nothing takes the place of Wisdom. And this comes from a combination of experience, years of serving the Lord, and a blessing of God which is ours FREE for the asking!

When was the last time you approached a problem by FIRST asking God for wisdom?

[Thersites]

If I had wisdom, I wouldn't have any excuse for screwing up so much