Step 7: Wisdom

During my high school years, I once went kayaking around a lake with some friends. We were young, energetic, and in good shape. One of my friends suggested that we paddle across the lake to see where a road became a tunnel on the side of a mountain. So we embarked on this adventure.

As we paddled across the lake, the wind was at our backs, and we were having a great time. However, after about an hour, we realized that the tunnel was too far away. We turned around to find the rest of our group, only to realize that no other boats were on the lake. Everyone else had already left, and we were alone. To make matters worse, the shore was much further away than we had anticipated.

We were tired, and the strong wind blowing across the lake didn't help. When we finally got out of the water, we were exhausted. Looking back on it, what started as an innocent day on the lake could easily have turned into tragedy.

It's important to note that reading the Bible, praying, or singing worship songs wouldn't have fixed our basic problem of youthful immaturity. While we survived the experience and can now look back on it as a fun story, the truth is that foolishness can ruin our lives.

Now imagine if something tragic had happened. For many people, it'd be natural to blame God for the disaster. As Proverbs 19:3 explains, "A person's own foolishness leads him astray, yet his heart rages against the LORD." But whose fault would it be?

In my experience, one neglected theme of the Bible is the contrast between wisdom and foolishness. But the Bible tells us that fools despise God and his wisdom. If we are foolish people, we will lack the sense to trust God or to benefit from his wisdom.

If you are attentive to wisdom, your relationship with God will make you fully human. But if you ignore wisdom, then you will at best become very religious.

And if we try to be spiritually mature within the narrow confines of 'religion' we are missing the point. God isn't helping us to become good church members, but fully alive image bearers. Putting aside foolishness and learning to navigate life with wisdom is a crucial part of our spiritual growth.

So how do we gain wisdom? James 1:5-8 instructs us:

"Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting."

**The path to wisdom starts by resolving to wholeheartedly trust God.** Ask God, then put into practice what God says.

**Biblical wisdom is learning to faithfully navigate God's world in God's presence with God's help.** A wise person has the ability to discern between right and wrong. We can navigate complex situations with grace and humility, and learn from our successes and failures. Wisdom is a quality developed over time through a life of seeking God, learning from others, and gaining practical experience.

If you don't want to be wise, you'll have difficulty becoming spiritually mature. Foolishness can sabotage our lives. Gaining wisdom is part of becoming like Christ.

**Our seventh step to God is to grow in wisdom.**