Thoughts on Wisdom and Intelligence

I was reading in the Bible the other day, and I ran across this passage:

^“6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; ⁷ but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; ⁸ the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” – 1 Corinthians 2:6-8

This rings true, even today. The “wisdom” of the World is at odds with God’s wisdom. And I’m not talking about science- I’m talking about worldly “wisdom” that says the only purpose of man is to acquire wealth and power. That there is no absolute truth. That Self is all that matters.

Sometimes I wonder why more people don’t understand that their actions are leading them to destruction, but again, the Disciple Paul knows why:

^“14 But a natural (worldly) man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. ¹⁵ But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. ¹⁶ For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 2:14-16

Wisdom isn’t the same thing as intelligence. I keep telling my kids they’re smart, but inexperienced- and wisdom is the application of experience. You can’t make wise decisions unless you either 1. learn from personal experience, or 2. learn from someone else’s experience. The Bible is full of wisdom, if one were so inclined to read it. But be warned! It might not make sense if you’re not trying to follow God’s ways.

On that note: Intelligence is a fact, a statistical number, not something to be egotistical about. I’m no more proud of it than I am proud that I have blue eyes… I had no influence in the matter. But like any other tool, it must be honed to a fine edge in order to get the most effective use out of it. If you possessed a powerful weapon, but never trained with it or sharpened it, how effective would it be in an emergency? Not very effective at all, I’d imagine.

Ego says “I deserve to be treated better because I’m smart. My life should be easy.”

Reality says “you don’t have to tell people you’re smart.” Simply do what you need to do. Those who are also smart will recognize it in your actions, not your words. Plenty of people say they’re smart. Precious few act like it.

The Dark World doesn’t care if you’re smart. In fact, much pain and suffering were meted out to me because of those who were jealous of my academic standing. I would have been better off playing along and learning advanced math on my own. I eventually figured it out, but those harsh lessons stay with me even to this day.

If you’re smart AND wise, then you’ll recognize the truth in what I’m saying.

If you’re not sure, then you might want to listen to someone who’s learned from experience…