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[Resurrected]

How to become more wise as a Christian?

[jimwalton]

Wisdom doesn't come just from asking. God doesn't just back up the wisdom dump truck and pile it on you because you ask, a la James 1.5. Nothing could be further from the truth. Proverbs 1 says wisdom is gained, or attained. Wisdom is LEARNED through devotion, prayer, experiences, mistakes, successes, reading, listening, and making corrections as one goes. It is attained by a sluggish, tedious trek through good and miserable experiences, through suffering and confusion, until we slowly learn who God is, how the world works, and how to make good decisions.

I’ve learned that for the most part the road to wisdom comes through hard times. Very little wisdom comes from success and through things going smoothly and well. When things are going well, we kick back and take a moment of respite. We learn mostly only when we’re forced to learn, when we’re thrown into disequilibrium, or when things don’t make sense and we’re challenged to figure out why and to push through it. For those who will stay on track and actually learn something from it, mostly by intention multiplied by time, they learn wisdom. Most people just go through life’s experiences, and even though they learn along the way, they don’t process it in such a way as to become wise through it. They just become experienced. Other people, of course, just become bitter and complaining people. The goal, however, is to attain wisdom.

James 1.5 is saying that wisdom comes from God, not that all you have to do is ask and suddenly you're bubbling with wisdom. But that’s not how it works. God gives us wisdom over a long period of time as we learn in humility and faith. Sure, we can ask God for it, but we also seek it in the pages of Scripture, learn from other people (wise counselors), and by processing our experiences through the filter of faith.