The Pursuit of Wisdom

I remember the experiments in the lab with the oscilloscope, schematics, and the circuits on the bench.  Unlike my liberal arts education from college, this was technical training at a technical school.  I never thought of it as the pursuit of wisdom.  In my mind, learning and growing in wisdom was something that came at the feet of a sage or guru.

Eventually, I discovered the biblical view of wisdom was much more expansive than this.  People who were called “wise” or “wise men” included those skilled at making clothes (Ex 28:2), builders and craftsmen (Ex 31:3), and those who were educated to serve in the court of the king (Ex 7:11; Dan 2:12). “Wise men” was a technical term to refer to those who had been educated with knowledge and skill, whether it be technical or philosophical.

This came to mind as I was reading in Genesis 3:6 for my daily Bible reading.  Part of the motivation for eating the fruit of the tree that God had prohibited was that it was “desirable to make one wise.”  Is there some inherent problem with the pursuit of wisdom?  What does the Bible say?  According to Proverbs 4:7, “The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom.”  This tells us a very important fact about wisdom.  Wisdom does not fall into one’s lap.  Wisdom does not come automatically with age.  Many people know an aged fool and a wise youth.  This demonstrates that in order to find wisdom, one must “cry out” for it, and search for it diligently as one searches for hidden treasure   Proverbs 2 says that to gain wisdom, one must cry out for insight (Prov 2:3), seek it like silver, and search for it like hidden treasure (Prov 2:4).

Eve wanted to be wise, smart, insightful, and knowledgeable, which is something the Bible encourages.  However, the Bible also teaches in Proverbs 1:7 that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.  True wisdom cannot be found without God.  Passages such as Proverbs 1:3, 2:9, and 9:9 makes clear that wisdom and righteousness go hand in hand. Eve engaged in unrighteousness by trying to gain wisdom apart from God. In Genesis 4:17-24, mankind began to gain wisdom in various branches of wisdom such as city building, farming, music, and metal work.  However, along with an increase in skill, knowledge, and learning came an increase in wickedness, violence, and runaway vengeance.  In Genesis 6:5 it says that their thoughts and inclinations were on evil continually.  The world became filled with wickedness and violence. 

This reminds me of a quotation from C.S. Lewis: “Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.”  Genesis 3:1-6:5 demonstrated this clearly and it is still happening today.  Nuclear power is useful, but humans have also used it to build bombs that can wipe out humanity.  Medical research is useful, but it can also be used to create killer viruses and wage germ warfare.  Things such as these demonstrate the “secular” pursuit of wisdom that makes man hideously crafty and smart.  Instead of leading to a utopia, it leads to social chaos, violence, and ultimately death and both the physical and spiritual level.  We see this demonstrated in Adam and Eve and in the generations that came after them all the way up to the flood.

This should be a sobering reminder that for Christians there should be no such thing as a “secular” pursuit of knowledge, skill, or wisdom.  All of it must be in honor, service, and faithfulness to God the creator, sustainer and redeemer.

The Calendar

I remember how we used to have a “Master Calendar” on the hallway wall while our boys were growing up.  Back before the days of electronic devices that had the ability to sync everyone’s calendars, we needed a way to make sure everyone in the family communicated our events, appointments, conferences, games, concerts, Youth Rallies, and especially church events.

During my growing years, I never gave a whole lot of thought to where calendars came from.  There were a few times I pondered it, such as the time when I was eight.  My mother showed some of the Korean coins she brought with her from Korea when she came to America. Instead of 1973, or something close to that, the year on the coins were 4294.  I did not realize that other countries counted years differently than we did.  I also did not realize through the centuries and millennia that there were other types of calendars with differing numbers of days and months on them. 

It is interesting how God created the material from which we can use to order our time.  When God created the Sun, Moon, and the Stars, he placed them in the vault/expanse/firmament, and declared what their function would be.  In addition to governing the earth by providing light, God said, “…let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years…” (Gen 1:14).  As a result, some people mark time by creating a calendar using the moon.  Others mark time by creating a calendar using the sun.  Either way, God is the one who provided the material for our “seasons, days, and years.”

The word that is translated “seasons” is an interesting word.  In Hebrew, it is “mo’ed,” which is usually translated “appointed time, appointed place, sacred time, or festival.”  Some examples of its use include Exodus 27:21, where it is the Tent of “meeting/appointed time,” Exodus 13:10 where it refers to the “appointed time” for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Leviticus 23:2 where it refers to the appointed feasts God had set aside for Israel to observe, and many other examples exactly like these in the Old Testament.  This word does not refer to time or seasons in general but more specifically to appointed and sacred times for worship, honor, or commemoration of God.

This means that God gave us the material to create calendars not merely for the purpose of planning our activities, but for setting aside times to thank, worship and serve him.  This is why James 4:13-15 says, “¹³ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— ¹⁴ yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”  

God’s will should be the organizing principle behind our calendars, day timers, and planners. The Psalmist prays, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”  Some questions to ask should include: “How would God have me number each day on the calendar?  How does godly wisdom guide me in doing so?  What should be the priorities in filling out the calendar this week?  This month?  This year?