What is Wisdom?

I hope you’re doing well. Let’s dive right in.

My personal philosophy about the nature of wisdom, as I understand it now, is, in my opinion, a quite practical one:

What I call “relative wisdom” or “intellectual wisdom” is the ability of a person to entertain contradictory ideas, acknowledge that some measure of truth exists in those ideas, ethically and morally, and synthesize a new conclusion that, while bent toward that individual’s perspective, does not negate the aspects of truth inherent in the original contradictory ideas, assuming that the resulting synthesized conclusion is grounded in ethics and morality (for the pagan) as well as God’s word and law (for the Christian). This view of wisdom is nearly synonymous with the Hegelian dialectic.

“Absolute wisdom” or “spiritual wisdom” is the wisdom that originates with the Creator of the universe and begins to become available to those who fear God. (We might say that such fear, perhaps born of circumstances that reveal God’s immense power and even wrath, is the heart of profound respect.) God’s wisdom is revealed and put into practice throughout the life of the Christian by the Holy Spirit as the gifts and fruits of the Spirit are increasingly made manifest. (The fruits of the Spirit are explained in this blog of mine.)

As my wisdom grows, so, too, my musings on the nature of wisdom will mature. However, I was inspired to publish my current understanding of the subject because the Bible, the only real truth we have, tells us that wisdom is more valuable than anything the world can give us, so I implore you to seek wisdom above all else.

Proverbs 16:16 - How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!  

God bless,

Robert

Photo Credit: https://sourcesofinsight.com/the-age-of-wisdom/