There is something very attractive about people of wisdom. For example:
Joseph’s wisdom brought him favor wherever he happened to be (except at home with his brothers) until one day the king of Egypt said, “… there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house …” (Genesis 41:39-40).
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah comported themselves in such a way that the king of Babylon found them to be “ten times better” than the other royal advisors in “every matter of wisdom and understanding about which [he] consulted them.” (Daniel 1:20).
1 Kings 10:24 says, “The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God put in his heart.” Backing up that statement is the story of the Queen of Sheba who traveled far to test the rumors she’d heard about his wisdom. She found that “the half had not been told her” (1 Chronicles 9:6).
Bible scholar C. Hassell Bullock says that the terms “wisdom” and “wise” in the Bible “apply to men and women who represent a way of thinking and conduct that is orderly, socially sensitive and morally upright.” It makes me think of 2 Corinthians 2:15: “for we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” I’ve always known that wise living has tremendous value and blessing for me. What I’ve not considered before is how that wise living affects the people around me. Those who live wisely catch the attention of a wisdom starved culture. In the cases of Joseph, Daniel and Solomon, the people who paid attention to their wisdom also noted that their wisdom came from God. There was an aroma of the “wisdom that comes from above” (James 3:17).
And so it is dawning on me that learning to live wisely is two-pronged: it not only brings blessing to my life; it also brings glory to God and Christ in the eyes of others. Luke 2:52 says, “[Jesus] grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” I think we can conclude that wisdom is an attractive and powerful evangelistic tool! Does the word “evangelism” make you hyperventilate? Live wisely. The world will notice and God will get the glory.
Randi Nelson
Encouraging words:
"… making mention of you in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him."
Ephesians 1:16-17
"Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom of God!"
Romans 11:33
"I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict."
Luke 21:15