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Choices

Writer's picture: Gary LanderfeltGary Landerfelt

Updated: Apr 24, 2024


AS I UNDERSTAND IT, the critical difference between Knowledge and Wisdom is this:


Knowledge is having all the facts (or at least sufficient facts) that allow us to decide or choose actions that are appropriate for various situations.


Wisdom from God allows us to choose correctly without knowing all that intelligence analysis. Wisdom is knowing the right thing to do and then doing it.


The Wisdom of God refers to a lifestyle developed by quality time spent with God. It is characterized by being gentle and reasonable and making a genuine effort to get along with others by treating others with dignity and honor.


We make decisions based on facts and experience every day; we must if we want to survive. Most of our decisions are small, but we still make many decisions without sufficient forethought.


Later, we hear ourselves saying, “Well, I made the best decision I could at the time,” or we have regrets because “things change,” or we attempt to shift the blame, “It looks like I didn’t get all of the information I asked for!” Or we try to blame someone else for our mistake. Humans don't always listen to the wise voice inside.


We have a common problem:


We have no idea what will happen tomorrow. We need advice from The One who does. How are we to know what's coming our way the next moment or what choices will make a difference for good in our lives or the lives of others we love?


Wisdom from God.


It's better than human understanding.


Please don’t ask me to explain how it comes to us.


When we choose Wisdom, some may view our choice of action as “goofy” or simply not very smart.


But the secret we hold in the deepest part of our soul when we "know what to do and then do it" is that it is perfect because of WHO it came from.


Wise instructions come to us in personal/unique ways, and I've never received any the same way twice.


Sometimes, I overhear a wise idea about a problem I've been seeking help with from part of a nearby conversation between people I don't know, or it appears in a dream or something the preacher said in an unrelated sermon. A line from a song I may have heard many times before suddenly connects with me, though it was always meaningless before. Or a scenario I always wanted to understand is suddenly played out right before my eyes after years of asking. Other times, I have ruminated an interaction or situation from years past, only to realize I was wrong in what I chose to do or say . . . but sometimes a "voice" tells me I was right, even though I always thought I was wrong. Complex to talk about. Too wonderful for any mortal to fully comprehend.


Is this just a bunch of religious psycho-babble?


Look at the photo I connected to this story. Only Wisdom would decide to fashion a single living leaf, growing out of the volcanic rock on the Na Pali Coast (on a side trail where few would notice it), into a conduit for water to fall into a tiny receiving pond, knowing that a passer-by who had never been there would notice it and decide to snap a photo to share the story for a moment such as this for many to consider, enjoy, or dismiss?


The single heart-shaped leaf on the right side of the photo is a nice touch as well, yes? I wonder if that has meaning.


Perhaps you see nothing special.


Maybe all this marvel was meant for only me. Was it? Every life makes a difference, though it may seem minuscule. The power of life is not about us nor from us, but because of the source. All creation continuously tells a great story we should listen to, even if we have no clue where it came from, where it is going, or what it all means. It is one of the great mysteries of this adventure we call life.


So.


Don't abandon making decisions based on knowledge.


And


Learn when it is time to choose between facts and Wisdom.


Never stop asking for Wisdom, for it will lead you to everything you always wanted, even if you don't know what that is at the moment. Believe God and do what He asks.


It was written long ago, "He makes everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecc 3:11



Copyright 2022, Gary Landerfelt, MyPericope.com


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