Thursday, January 1, 2004
Luke 2:52

Wisdom is a matter of growth and development. We have to learn to be wise just as we have to learn the knowledge needed to subsist and thrive in this world. But where can we go to learn wisdom?

I don't know how to answer that since wisdom is not institutionalized in the way knowledge is institutionalized in education, research and development.

We can get wisdom from observing nature. Wisdom comes from our relationships with others. Wisdom comes from making mistakes and venturing into new quarters.

We take it for granted that Jesus grew in knowledge. He is shown having a Rabbi's grasp of the scriptures from which he often quoted, even on the cross. In terms of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, he knew the Scriptures and he knew the tradition. But he also grew in wisdom by his own human experience and the power of his reason, informed by the Holy Spirit, to discern what was going on and what the alternatives might be.

Jesus stands out in scripture as not being a man of his times. He treated everyone differently and humanely ­ especially the downtrodden, the poor, the sick, and the outcast. He was especially different in his relationships with women. In other words, he did not live by the Conventional Wisdom of his day.

Conventional Wisdom means the popular notions of the day, or as the Dictionary puts it, a generally held view, notion, or opinion. It's what everyone supposes or believes to be generally true or the way things are s'posed to be. Economist and philosopher John Kenneth Galbraith, who coined the words "conventional wisdom" says, "These are the days when men of all social disciplines and all political faiths seek the comfortable and the accepted; when the man of controversy is looked upon as a disturbing influence; when originality is taken to be a mark of instability; and when, in a minor modification of the scriptural parable, the bland lead the bland."

In contrast, the gift of Wisdom allows one to reflect on human experience and see things in a new, more comprehensive light. I normally don't expect flights of inspired prose from The Interpreter's Dictionary, but the gift of Wisdom is beautifully described by S. H. Blank in closing the entry on "Wisdom":

"Meaningful as is the Law, powerful as is the prophetic element, wisdom yet adds a dimension. Wisdom is a deposit of reflection upon human experience, the trivial along with the ultimate, both superficial and profound. It is philosophy rooted in the soil of life: truth springs out of the earth. It is philosophy although it is not reduced to a system. It teaches rational living, which, at the same time, is good and godly living. It teaches that the life controlled by reason is the life beset by the fewest sorrows. And it teaches how when troubles come, as apparently at best they do, the wise can bear them. Righteousness and peace kiss each other."

Dave Steffenson

All contents copyright 2003 by the Wisconsin Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action. Permission is granted to United Methodist congregations, individuals and groups to reproduce and distribute this devotional without charge. All other use requires the advance permission of the editor.