Wisdom isn’t a collection of facts! Wisdom isn’t even an accumulation of days, months, and years. Wisdom involves not just comprehension but behavior. Actually, our comprehension of things and methods and practices can often be contradictory to each other and what is really the truth. No, it’s not the depth of comprehension or understanding that’s truly the important thing about wisdom. It’s the diligence by which the truths we perceive and understand are applied to our lives.
When I was being trained in the Navy on how to scrub a deck (and I did it a lot!), and how to paint a bulkhead (that’s a wall), or clean a head (that’s a bathroom), and how to do just about everything else on the ship as a young recruit, I was often told there are three ways of doing things; the right way, the wrong way, and the Navy way. One Master Chief, who was the Master-at-Arms on board the USS WALLER (DD-466), told me he only cared about the Navy way. Don’t confuse me with a discussion of what’s right and wrong. We’re going to do it the Navy way! The ways he promoted, he would argue, were tried and true. He didn’t care what we thought or what we’d like or what we’ve learned in the world. The only acceptable way to do anything, understand it or not, was the Navy way! The interesting thing about this huge, black Master Chief from Detroit was that he was always right. We hated that about him. But as we faced many difficulties on our trip across the Atlantic, many of his ways proved of great value. We learned to avoid many unpleasant experiences by listening to him and obeying. His instructions saved the life of a young torpedo man’s mate during a storm in the North Atlantic. He always settled arguments and prevented fights on the ship also.
This isn’t the place for a bunch of sea stories, so I’ll skip right to the point. If the Master Chief knew what he was talking about, how much more does God? Solomon says, “Do what I say, and you will live. Be as careful to follow my teaching as you are to protect your eyes” (Proverbs 7:2). Jesus says, “Everyone who hears my words and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). And Jesus’ brother, James, warns us all “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). Another most profound piece of wisdom comes from Proverbs 3:5-6. Everyone should memorize this passage. It says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” According to man’s understanding, there’s a right way and a wrong way. But it’s always the wisest choice to do it God’s way!