Wisdom is Power

There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. We gain knowledge by learning either from books or from others. Wisdom cannot be taught. Wisdom is gained by experience. Wisdom requires time and discernment. Knowledge can lead to wisdom. Without wisdom, knowledge is just an empty book.

My son, be attentive to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understanding; that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.  For the lips of a loose woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.  Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not take heed to the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.  Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house; lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless; lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of an alien; and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!  I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.  I was at the point of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”  Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.

Proverbs 5.1-15

We learn a lot about God. We learn from the Bible. We learn from the Church. We learn from experience. Our Great Lenten Journey is about gaining experience of God through proper prayer and fasting. We experience God directly through Holy Communion.

If our knowledge of God never goes beyond the Bible or the walls of the Church, then we have not gained wisdom. When we allow God to direct our lives, then we have achieved wisdom because God is Wisdom.

Since we get back to fasting today from yesterday’s ‘break’ for the Feast of Annunciation, it is a good reminder that we must seek wisdom from God. When we depart from wisdom, life takes a difficult turn.

Cain said to Abel his brother, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.  Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”  And the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.  And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.  When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”  Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.  Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground; and from thy face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me.”  Then the LORD said to him, “Not so! If any one slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him.

Genesis 4.8-15

Cain departed from the wisdom of God. Instead of joy, he found pain and suffering. Life became even harder for Cain, not because he didn’t have knowledge of God. Life became difficult because Cain didn’t use his knowledge of God to experience the wisdom of God.

As we travel through our second week of Great Lent, I invite you to focus on God’s Wisdom. His wisdom is powerful enough to bring you through all obstacles. His wisdom is powerful enough to keep you away from unnecessary struggle. God’s Wisdom is Christ.

Cain was focused on rule following and lost sight of wisdom. Don’t let your prayer and fasting be about rule following. Let your prayer and fasting lead you to the wisdom of God. Let your prayer and fasting lead you to Christ. His Wisdom is all the power you need.