Whether it’s at the beginning of a new year or at any other time of the year that is conducive to a new beginning, we make all sorts of resolutions. We want to improve our health, appearance, relationships, etc. But what about our wisdom?
The demands of life sometimes overwhelm us. We become so busy pursuing our activities and responding to the demands of those around us that we don’t take enough time to reflect on what we are doing. Our times of studying the Bible and our prayer times should be a good time to refocus on what is essential. It is not for nothing that the Bible considers it as important as our daily bread. Even the Sabbath, the enforced rest ordered by God in the Old Testament, was primarily intended to stop us and allow us to put God first in our lives.
In short, what should differentiate a child of God from those who have no relationship with God is his ability to stop and refocus our life on God. Ecclesiastes compares these downtimes to the moment when a woodcutter stops to sharpen his axe. He will be much more effective if he stops to sharpen his tool than if he continues to cut down trees without stopping. “If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success” (Ecclesiastes 10:10 NKJV).
Success does not come from doubling your efforts by accomplishing more tasks than your neighbor. According to what the Bible teaches, success comes from wisdom, and therefore, we clearly benefit from taking the time to develop our wisdom and our knowledge. There are two kinds of wisdom: that of men (which comes through experience and all the classes we can take) and that which comes from God. Human wisdom is excellent (most of the time!), but there is nothing better than the wisdom of the Lord. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7 NKJV). Only fools do not take the time to develop their knowledge and to seek the wisdom that comes from God.
That is not only advice from the Old Testament, it is also what the apostle Paul recommended. “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment” (Philippians 1:9 NKJV). Loving God is, of course, the foundation of the Christian life. But to our love, we must add knowledge. This wisdom will sometimes come from our times of Bible study but also from the lessons that God teaches us through our trials.
What have you learned about God in the last 12 months? What lesson has God taught you through your trials? What do you plan to do differently to stop daily and weekly to develop your wisdom and multiply your knowledge? Of all the resolutions we can make, let us choose to become wiser.