Living Wisely Or Foolishly
Dr. Charles Stanley emphasizes that the most critical decision an individual faces is the choice between living wisely by seeking God’s guidance or living foolishly by relying on self-will and worldly standards. This choice dictates the outcome of every area of life. The time, schedule, and every aspect of a believer’s life should revolve around developing an ongoing, intimate, wonderful, exciting, satisfying, indescribable, and incomparable relationship with a personal God.
The continuous question that must be asked before making any decision—major or minor—is: “Is this the wisest thing to do?”.
Worldly Wisdom is Foolishness Before God (The Wrong Way) (H2)
Worldly wisdom, or the way the world thinks apart from God, is declared to be foolishness before God. The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise of this world, and He declares that they are useless and empty.
Unwise living is a very expensive lifestyle affecting every aspect of one’s existence. Examples of unwise decisions include:
- Choosing to buy a house that one knows they cannot afford.
- Marrying solely for sexual fulfillment without considering other important factors.
- Drinking alcoholic beverages in front of children, ignoring the future consequences of leaving an image of a sometimes-drunk parent.
- Stacking up credit card debt to the point of knowing payments cannot be made.
People make unwise decisions because they neglect the most important thing in their lives: the wisdom of Almighty God. They make decisions based on what they want, how they feel, what makes them feel good, or what other people think, never pausing to ask, “What’s the will of the Father?”. To leave God out of your life is a foolish and devastating conclusion.
Defining True Wisdom: Viewing Life from God’s Viewpoint (The Right Way) (H2)
Genuine, godly wisdom is defined as viewing things from God’s viewpoint—seeing them as He sees them—and then responding to those things on the basis of what the Word of God teaches.
- The Source of Wisdom: If you want to find God’s viewpoint, you must seek it in the Word of God. To say, “I don’t have time for that Bible stuff,” is to choose to live a very foolish life, guaranteeing foolish decisions and unforeseen consequences.
- The Foolishness of Self-Reliance: If one believes they are so smart that they can live their life successfully or happily apart from the teachings of the Word of God, they are playing the fool.
- The Christian’s Identity: Believers are set apart by God through Jesus Christ to allow Him to live His life in and through them. “You belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God”. This means believers are eternally secure and have Him as their guide for every single day.
The Necessity of God’s Omniscience (Why Consult Him?) (H2)
It is only wise to consult God because He is omniscient; He knows everything perfectly—the past, present, and future.
- Infinite Knowledge: God has absolute, total, complete, infinite knowledge about every single thing. Nothing ever startles or surprises Him.
- Consulting the Perfect Guide: It is wise to consult the one who knows everything and has never forgotten or overlooked anything. To live in disobedience is to say, “I don’t need omniscience, omnipotence, or omnipresence; I can handle it”.
- Understanding Suffering: When tragedy or heartache occurs, it is not without God knowing it or without His plan. What He allows may be beyond human comprehension, but it is never beyond the wisdom and awesome plan of God.
Christians should not be worried, frustrated, anxious, or fearful about the events of the world because they know what is going to happen. They are sleeping in the presence of Almighty God, who never sleeps and possesses all power and knowledge.
The Nature of Unwise Wisdom: Earthly, Natural, and Demonic (H2)
The wisdom that does not come down from above is described by the Apostle James as being earthly, natural, and demonic.
Earthly and Natural (H3)
Unwise wisdom is earthly because it is limited to man’s reasoning, thinking, attempts, and accomplishments. It is natural because it relates to the fallen, sensual nature within all humans—the part that does not want to obey God and desires one’s own will.
The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God because they are foolishness to him and cannot be understood, as they are spiritually appraised.
Demonic (H3)
The root of this unwise wisdom is demonic, found in Satan himself. Satan uses lies to convince people they don’t need God, telling them that they are smart enough, possess enough position, money, intellect, or talent to handle life without “religious stuff”. This is the voice of the devil. People who operate this way, thinking they have the right answer while leaving God out, are arrogant, and their actions fall into the category of living life in an earthly, natural, and demonic manner.
The Power of Godly Wisdom: Peace, Purity, and Purpose (H2)
Godly wisdom provides direction for every single decision. When living wisely, a believer can walk through the deepest, darkest valleys and situations they never thought they could endure. God will lead step by step, knowing that humans cannot fathom the entire story He has planned.
The wisdom that is from above is first described as:
- Pure: It is absolutely perfect wisdom.
- Peaceable: It brings peace.
- Gentle and Reasonable: It is not harsh, and it is reasonable from God’s viewpoint.
- Full of Mercy and Good Fruits: It is unwavering and without hypocrisy.
God’s wisdom contrasts sharply with the wisdom driven by bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder, and every evil thing.
To live wisely, one must be spiritually wise, allowing them to see and hear things that others do not. This enables a believer to discern the difference between what someone outwardly says and the underlying message. It is crucial to instruct children to ask, “What is the wisest thing to do?” based on God’s omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence, rather than asking, “What is everybody else doing?”.