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Unpacking the True Meaning of Wisdom in a Crisis

By Dennis Rainey



Have you ever spent time with a person who is absolutely brilliant? A genuine genius? A person with a photographic memory?


I have.


Years ago, while I was on a 10-day tour of Israel, I encountered Dr. Bruce Waltke. He was an Old Testament seminary professor and the Bible teacher for our tour. He was more than qualified with two doctorates … a ThD from Dallas Theological Seminary and a PhD from Harvard. Bruce was brilliant.


Location after location I was astonished at his mental acuities. He quoted large sections of books to give us the historical background of the Dead Sea Scrolls. At one point he squinted his eyes, rubbed his forehead as he recited some text which was etched on one of those ancient scrolls. All of this and much more … from memory.


I recall thinking, “This is what it’s like to go on tour with a man who is a human library.” He was Dr. Google before there was Google!


On day nine the temperature was soaring and I was hot so I wandered back to the bus. As I took a seat up front I looked to my right and there was Dr. Waltke.


After some small talk I pounced on the opportunity to ask a very naïve question. “Location after location you have amazed us with your knowledge of Israel, the Bible, and history.” I paused for just a second then asked my question: “Dr. Waltke, what is it like to be such a genius?”


Now you need to know that Bruce was a shy man. Humble and gracious. At first he looked away from me. I assumed he was embarrassed by my observation and question.

His answer to my question is still etched on my soul.


He looked back at me, smiled, and timidly responded, “Ah Dennis … I don’t know if you’ve noticed but our Arab guides are threatened by my knowledge. They are jealous because I know more about this land where they grew up than they do.” (This was four years after the “Six Day War” when Jewish occupation of the land was in its infancy. We had Arab guides because there were no trained Jewish guides.)


He went on to explain, “And back at the seminary where I teach there’s all kinds of competition between professors about how much they know about the Bible, the number of books they’ve written, and the papers they’ve published.”


He went on, “This strife occurs because knowledge can puff people up and divide … but … wisdom builds people up. It edifies and unifies.” Bruce paused then placed the cookies on the lower shelf …


“Because wisdom is godly skill in everyday living.”


That brief interaction over 50 years ago sent me off on a lifelong study of “wisdom”—what it is, how we acquire it and apply it, and how to experience its benefits in our lives. Here’s a small sampling of what I’ve discovered.



Seeing life through God’s eyes


I have discovered that true wisdom is living life according to God’s design. Wisdom sees the raw components of life through God’s eyes and asks Him to give us discernment and understanding about a crisis, a trial, or a person whose actions doesn’t make sense to us.


Isn’t that what you and I need right now? We need to truly understand God’s perspective of what’s taking place in our world and ask Him for wisdom to know how to respond to:

…perpetual lockdowns.

…loss of a job.

…racism.

…conflicting world views at work, at the university or in politics.

…chaos among our leaders.


These are thorny issues, some of which have been around for a long time. We need to know how to address them wisely.


A couple of weeks ago I was praying for a friend who serves us all through his position in government. I thought of what he and his colleagues were facing. Relentless uncertainty. Chaos, confusion, bitterness, bickering, hatred and even violence. We see the result in …


A divided nation.

A divided government.


Divided churches.


Division between friends.


And even divided marriages and families.


From the top of our country to the bottom, we all need wisdom. Now.


Wisdom comes from God


Two passages of Scripture from the Book of James form a compass that points us in the right direction … IF we are teachable and willing to listen to what God says in Scripture.


First, the wisdom we all need comes from God, not from man. Take a look at what Jesus’s half-brother wrote in James 1:2-8:


“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of va