“A fool thinks he is wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool”, William Shakespeare, As you Like it. We value wisdom as a trait and would take is as a compliment to be called wise and an insult to be called unwise. But what is wisdom? It has been explained that knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit while wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad, but is that what we are talking about? Is wisdom something that comes with age and is therefore the preserve of the elderly? The problem with thinking this way is that we equate wisdom with our personal knowledge and experience. We approach any situation and base our decision making according to our own subjectivity, so when the bible talks about wisdom, is it simply down to us to determine what to do?

In our reading today we consider someone who was gifted with great wisdom to the extent that he now defines what it is to be wise. We talk about “the wisdom of Solomon”. Yet Solomon was already displaying what we would call great wisdom before he asked God for it. He was not the natural heir to the throne but managed to get himself accepted as such. On attaining the throne, he began a purge to cement his reign. He entered a political marriage with the Pharaoh’s daughter thus securing Israel’s southern border against a powerful enemy. He declared God’s blessing on his reign in a politically expedient part of the nation, right between the warring northern and southern factions to unite the country behind him. He seems pretty astute already, so why is he asking God for wisdom? When we understand that he understands wisdom as discerning God’s will and living it out, we see that Solomon is asking to know God’s mind. That’s biblical wisdom, living as God calls us to live.

We have to ask if we are living wisely or are we relying on our own experiences and knowledge to respond to any situation? When we are faced with a decision, do we automatically think we know what is best or do we take the time to seek God’s mind and do that instead? Are our church leaders making wise decisions? Some churches have missions that make them look more like profit making businesses. If we accept that Jesus is the embodiment of God’s wisdom, and the church is His body, shouldn’t the mark of a wise church be that their ministry and missions are identical to His? Are we electing wise leaders in our community? Are those we are electing creating laws and rules that create a society more like life in the kingdom of God or not? Living wisely means seeking God’s mind first and living as God calls us to. May we be known as wise in all we say and do.