Wisdom Paper

Wisdom Paper

 Carmen Lang

Ohio Christian University

CM3000 Christian Excellence

Marian Willeke

July 24, 2012

“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?”(1 Kings 13:9). This is what King Solomon asked of the Lord. The Lord was pleased with this request and granted Solomon wisdom that surpassed all that were before him and all that were after him. Wisdom is something that everyone desires deep down. Wisdom is “the ability to discern, to understand, to have insight, and to use good judgment” (H.N.Wright, 1989). All of these are components of wisdom and are like the ingredients to the sandwich of wisdom.

Discern is defined in the dictionary as “a: to detect with the eyes b: to detect with senses other than vision” (Merriam-Webster.com, 2012). Most people that have a problem with either their eyesight or hearing can discern sometimes better than others. Somehow their brains and senses have taken over and adjusted to help with the loss of these features. As a mother sometimes this is also seen as well. When something is wrong with our children we can know even though they are not right in our presences.

Understand, is “to grasp the meaning of” (Merriam-Webster.com, 2012). God wants us to be able to read His word and to understand the meaning of what He is trying to say. Sometimes this is very hard to know exactly what God wants us to do. It is at these moments that we need to call upon Him and He will give us wisdom, the wisdom to understand what He is writing and wanting us to know. God gives us understanding about how special he has made each one of us. This helps immensely in relationship building. We can understand that people are uniquely made in God’s image and we can appreciate one another.

Gaining insight is a third concept of wisdom. Insight is “the power or act of seeing into a situation” (Merriam-Webster.com, 2012). Insight is seeing into a situation and knowing how to react to situations. A person that makes goals and tries to plan out their future is really good at insight. An investment broker should have good insight to be able to invest your money wisely. God knows all and can see all; therefore He has the perfect insight. If we need to know something then all we have to do is ask and He will make the way clear if we are to know.

Good judgment is also a part of wisdom. This concept is very good to have in relationships. You need good judgment to know how far you should go with a relationship with other people. Sometimes even relationships with people that are Christian’s can be unbenefical to your spiritual walk. When a Christian is not on the same level of spiritual walk as you it might bring you down. So it is wise to have good judgment as to when to help your Christian friend open their eyes and see the truths you have been seeing in scripture or when to just let them be a good acquaintance.

I think that God has given me the ability to have good judgment. As a parent it is benefical for me to rely on God to show me how close I should let my children interact with the world. It is also helpful to teach good judgment to my children it is good judgment not to stick your hand on the stove you probably will get burnt if there is a fire or it is hot. The same thing is true with a Christian’s walk. It is good judgment not to return to the bar if you have had a problem with drinking you might get burnt in essence. Have a sense of good judgment will allow me to know what type of relationship I should build with certain people. People that I have common interests and common spiritual goals I will develop more close relationships. People that I come in contact with that may share common interests but we are not on the same spiritual plan I will just have them as good acquaintances. It is good to know what I believe so that I can base my judgment on what God has laid out in His word.

Wisdom is a very beneficial to relationship building. Each component is important to know how to deal with people and getting along. God has called us to treat each other with respect. When we read and study God’s word then we will become wiser through discerning, understanding, having good insight and good judgment. Our world would see a big change if many people would put this into practice more every day.

Works Cited

(2012, July 20). Retrieved from Merriam-Webster.com: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discern

H.N.Wright. (1989). How to Get Along With Almost Anyone. Nashville, TN: Royal Publishers INC.