Knowledge is King! We have all heard this saying. Without knowing the facts, we can make some pretty erroneous decisions. Investing in companies that you know very little about can be disastrous. Without the necessary information, investing becomes little more than gambling. And even when you are gambling, if you don’t understand the bet, you are merely “rolling the dice”. It makes little sense to bet on sports if you don’t have a clue as to the intricacies of the game you are betting on.
A general cannot make decisions on attack plans unless he knows something about the movements, or planned movements, of the enemy. George Patton was a renowned tank commander in World War II. He led the allied forces to sweeping victories over his German counterparts, even though they often had superior equipment. But Patton had something they did not. A superior knowledge of the history of warfare. It was his passion. He was able to use that knowledge to great success on the battle field. But what about after the war? Applied to diplomacy, his knowledge of battle left him with little to show for it. He was unable to use his experience to gain success in the realm of politics. He often figuratively shot himself in the foot with numerous misstatements and, as a consequence, was removed from positions of influence. He died in obscurity a short time after the war as a result of an automobile accident.
So knowledge can be had through much study and experience. But what about wisdom. Does it come along hand in hand with knowledge? Not hardly. One definition of wisdom is:
Wisdom is the fitting application of knowledge
So it is not possible to be wise without having knowledge. It is the quality of taking life’s information gleaned from study and life’s experiences and applying it appropriately in varying circumstances.
But it is very possible to have knowledge without being wise. Jim Bakker, the televangelist from the 70s and 80s in the United States knew ABOUT God. He could quote chapter and verse from the bible without fail. His abilities as a preacher led him to build an empire on the backs of his donors. But he got caught up in a scandal involving his secretary and then got caught misappropriating donated funds. He went to jail as a consequence.
I have read that Knowledge allows one to learn about God. While Wisdom is the love of God that results from that knowledge. Knowledge in of itself serves no purpose but perhaps to impress. It is the application of that knowledge that indicates whether one possesses wisdom or not.
So what does wisdom look like when it comes to God? In the first reading from the book of Sirach (Greek version of the author’s name, Ben Sira) the author talks about how he spent his entire life seeking wisdom. He prayed intently for her (wisdom) for many years. And in the portion we read from today we see that he felt he profited from attaining wisdom. But how did he profit? In other parts of the chapter we see that Sirach’s reward was his acquiring lips and a tongue with which to praise God. All his knowledge of God, which helped lead him to obtaining wisdom, came down to his ability to better praise and worship God.
Matthew Kelly talks about worship coming from three men we all know well. The three wise men in the Nativity narrative. These men, some say they were astronomers, used their knowledge of celestial happenings to follow a star to the point where it rested over the birthplace of the Christ child. But for what purpose? To be able to brag to their friends about how they accomplished this feat? To set a new Guinness record for “star following”? I don’t think so. Their goal for the journey? To find the child and WORSHIP HIM!! That is what Wise Men do. That is what we are to do…if we are wise.
When we learn about Jesus, and are told He is God, we have a very simple choice to make. And it takes very little study and knowledge. We just have to read about Jesus, or listen to someone telling us about Jesus. At that point we can choose Him as the Son of God, the Savior. Or we can elect to believe it is just a fantasy story. But if we choose belief that he is the author of all creation, then He asks us to Worship. Not because He is some megalomaniac who needs us to tell Him how much we like Him. No, because He knows if we do not worship God…Jesus…we will find something else to worship. We will choose to fill our lives with money, fame, power, or other destructive addictions. We will not be working our way to eternity with our Creator.
And that…Is Just Not Wise.
