“On shipboard it pleased God of his free mercy to give me twenty-six of the Moravian brothers for companions, who endeavoured to show me ‘a more excellent way’. But I understood it not at first. I was too learned to be wise, so that it seemed foolishness to me. And I continued preaching, and following after, and trusting in, that righteousness wherein no flesh can be justified…”
Upon reading the above quote by John Wesley on his conversion, I was struck with his statement that he was “too learned to be wise”, and, more specifically, the difference implied in his words between knowledge and wisdom. At the time of Wesley’s conversion, he was already a clergyman of the Church of England and a man of almost thirty-five years of age. By all appearances, he was a true and devout believer in Christ; yet on his voyage to the New World where he was to preach to the pagan Indians of the largely unsettled land of Georgia, Wesley was struck with the fact that he was unsaved and lacking the assurance of salvation that some of his fellow Moravian passengers demonstrated. The salvation he knew and preached was based mainly on works, not the inward workings of the heart.
Yet it is not my wish in this instance to begin again the ceaseless Calvinism-Arminian debate which has a place, but would be a proverbial “rabbit trail” in this case. My point here is solely to illustrate the distinction between knowledge and wisdom – two words that are often wrongly considered to be synonymous. According to one dictionary, knowledge is the “general awareness or possession of information, facts, ideas, truths, or principles”[1] while wisdom is the “the knowledge and experience needed to make sensible decisions and judgments, or the good sense shown by the decisions and judgments made”[2] as well as the “accumulated knowledge of life or in a particular sphere of activity that has been gained through experience”[3]. I have further heard wisdom described as knowledge applied to life.
Anyone with means can procure knowledge through the medium of education. Yet a truly good education does not make it its goal to simply pack as much information, facts, and figures into the students’ heads before graduation as possible; but also strives to pass on a portion of wisdom accompanying that information. A homeless, uneducated, and disabled man can be exceedingly wise, while the brightest, most learned and intelligent man can be a complete fool if all he knows are the mere facts and misses the messages, lessons, and point of all that he has learned. For instance, what is truly important about knowing what date Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the church door unless one knows and understands what is in those ninety-five theses? In the same manner, what good is knowing what date the first shot of the Civil War was fired if one does not also learn the lessons of that war?
George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” One can know all the facts about a war or any great event in history, yet if they do not learn the lessons of those great events, then they are still liable to make the same errors, though perhaps in a different area. Mere facts and figures are not enough to make someone wise. Granted, some facts and calculations are important and necessary for life, yet regardless of their necessity, they are not what makes up an individual or are what is truly important in the end.
Also, in some people, knowledge makes them puffed up and above the opinions of others in their own minds at least. In raising themselves so high that they cannot accept admonishment or debate, they become fools. In their satisfaction with their knowledge, they completely miss wisdom.
Proverbs often warns us against becoming proud, above the voice of our elders, and ignoring the voice of wisdom. In chapter 8, verses 12-21 and 32-36, we read,
“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries…And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”
There are numerous other passages in Proverbs that relate to this discussion; for instance, 10:17: “Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.” 12:1: “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” 16:22: “Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly.” 17:10: “A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.” 17:16: “Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom when he has no sense?” 19:8: “Whoever gets sense loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will discover good.”
The point is that we should be very careful, lest in the pursuit and gain of knowledge, we reject true wisdom as foolishness. Also, we must never become so proud that we cease to listen to correction or advice. Not all correction is rightly applied, and not all advice is good, but we must be humble enough to listen when both are offered and learn to take the good and let the bad fly away as chaff in the wind. More times than I would like to admit, I have to remind myself that to scorn correction is foolishness, and it is only those who listen to reproof that will become wise.
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