Godly Wisdom

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

One of the great sins of fallen man is the tendency to think they know more than anyone else, including God. You’ve probably known people that refuse correction under any circumstance. If you’re honest, you’ve probably refused correction too. I know I have. The truth is, that is a manifestation of our tendency to exalt our wisdom above the wisdom of others. It’s not new; it goes all the way back to the beginning when Adam and Eve thought they were wiser than their creator and chose to eat the forbidden fruit [Geneses 3:1-7].

That’s why throughout Scripture we are warned not to think more highly of ourselves than we should, not to lean on our own understanding, and not to be wise in our own eyes. We are constantly reminded to first and foremost trust in the Lord and His Word, and also trust the godly wisdom evident in the life of faithful Christ followers [see Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 13:20; Colossians 2:1-3; James 3:13-18]. A wise person is always open to correction. 

When a person is wise in his own eyes, the less likely he is to fear the Lord and turn from evil. It causes him, as it did Adam and Eve, to believe he knows better than God, to reject God’s way, and to do what is right is his own eyes. 

It stands to reason that there are blessings that follow those who trust in the wisdom of God and others, not the least of which is “repentance that leads to salvation” [2 Corinthians 7:10].

Matthew Henry wrote, “There is not a greater enemy to the power of religion, and the fear of God in the heart, than conceitedness of our own wisdom.” When we put our wisdom above God’s wisdom, we fall into sin, and it only gets worse from there. To stay on course, we must daily turn to God and His Word, confess our own foolishness, and seek to learn from others that are wiser than we are.

Don’t consider yourself to be wise: fear the LORD and turn away from evil. This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones. Proverbs 3:7-8