A Smart Fool?

If you're a student of American history you know about the "Higgins boat" which Dwight Eisenhower credited with changing the course of World War 2. Andrew Higgins built the boats, called LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel) in military jargon, that carried our soldiers and supplies to the beaches for the invasion. According to historian Stephen Ambrose, Higgins refused to hire engineers who were graduates of college programs because he believed that schools of engineering taught students to think too narrowly and turned out engineers that began their processes from what they thought could not be done in design, rather than attempting innovation. Higgins wanted men with wisdom and common sense and he found them! His self-taught engineers came up with a shallow draft boat that could go right up to the beaches, drop a ramp on the front, and allow the men to disembark without having to crawl up and over the sides, a slower process that exposed them to enemy fire for a longer period of time. {Source - REV! March-April, 2008}

Wisdom and education are not necessarily one and the same. Mastering a great body of information and having the ability to recall those facts can be a valuable skill, but if learning is not matched with wisdom - which includes:
the ability to apply information to life,
to adapt and create solutions to problems, and
an understanding of how to relate to other people-
a person may well end up being a smart fool! It has been said wisely that "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!" That is not to suggest that education, in itself, is undesirable. Having the opportunity and inclination to gain an education is important. What we must never forget is that information, especially today, has a very short shelf life. The world changes rapidly and the person who is truly wise, will be a life-long learner, continuing to study, to read, and to seek to understand the world in which he lives.

I once thought that by the time I reached my fifth decade of life, and my third decade of pastoral ministry, that my calling to the church would grow easier. It hasn't. Much of what I learned about 'how' to do ministry yesterday no longer applies in an ever-changing world. However, I enjoy greater effectiveness now than I did twenty five years ago, but it isn't because I'm in control of more facts or that I am smarter today than I once then. Truthfully, I get frustrated by my tendency to forget names, faces, and facts. I know that my mental processes are beginning to slow a little; but, I am wiser today than I was twenty years ago. That wisdom makes me more useful to the Kingdom. I'll leave it to you to say if I am actually wise! I am content to make a comparative statement - wiser than I once was! After all, the Bible warns about the folly of becoming 'wise in your own eyes!' (Proverbs 26.12)

Wisdom is not reserved for those who have graduate degrees, those with high IQ's, or those over the age of 50! Wisdom is available to anyone of us who will seek it.

The first step towards true wisdom is revealed in this passage from the Word. "Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them." (Hosea 14:9, NIV) There can be no real wisdom without submission to God and His ways. Let me state what might be obvious - the ability to spout Bible trivia is not the same as understanding the ways of the Lord!

The second step on the road to wisdom is humility. A wise man realizes that there is much he does not know and reveals his wisdom by gathering wise counselors! "Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances." (Proverbs 11:14, The Message) Who is on your life team? From whom are you taking advice and counsel? Are you walking with the wise?

Then, too, there is this paradox. The wiser a person becomes the more willing he is to live with mystery and ambiguity! Job was a wise man. When his life turned from good to bad, then from bad to worse, he demanded an explanation - from others and from God. His friends consumed day after day with tedious philosophical arguments about the reasons for Job's suffering. In the end, the Lord swept away their musings. Job himself rose up to demand fair answers from the Lord, to which God said "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!" Then Job answered the LORD: "I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth." (Job 40:2-4, NIV) Job learned wisely to live with the mystery of faith.

Here's a word from the Word to take with you through this April Fool's Day.

"Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you.
Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer."
(Proverbs 9:8-12, NIV)