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The lecturer states she “would contend that only a believer is able to truly love wisdom as God created us to love.” Do you agree or disagree? Explain.
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That statement made me use and think. The Scriptures are clear that wisdom is through knowing and acknowledging God. If we do not acknowledge him as creator and Lord, we do not have a base solid foundation to begin to construct wisdom. I had a seminary professor who defined wisdom as skill in living. In that sense, I have know many people who seemed to live well with good relationships but did not acknowledge God or follow him. So maybe in the past I might have disagreed with her statement. However, with the passing of time and the constant shifting in cultural norms that go to a core of what is good, I am leaning toward agreeing with her. If society constructs life on our own terms, deciding what is good, right, needed, and, as I think specifically about educating children, what is normal, I see how ambiguous it all is. Like the Lord said, it is like building your life on sand that cannot stand the test of storms.
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Lori,
I appreciate how you have shared what you may have thought a few years ago. This question also made me pause and think. Depending on how one defines wisdom, it may leads me to think anyone, whether a Christ follower or not, could love it. If wisdom is, as you’ve stated, is “knowing and acknowledging God”, then I believe only a Christ follower can truly love wisdom. Do you think only a Christ follower can possess wisdom based on that definition?
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Yes, I completely agree, as God’s word speaks much about this. Wisdom guides us, and without it, we are lost in this world chasing after other ideas and feel-good philosophies that will eventually leave us deflated and hungry for truth. I think there’s much to be said that when God told Solomon to ask for anything he desired, Solomon asked for wisdom. This proved to be “more precious than rubies”. God is the authority on wisdom and the bible’s pages are filled with it. As a believer, when we seek God’s wisdom, we trust in His promises and truths for life, and it exhibits our faith in His word. We cannot truly love the way He designed us to if we cannot love His will for us…. and how else to know His will if we do not pray for wisdom and seek it? We love wisdom, because we love God, and to love God, is to also love and trust His will. We know His will is that all should know and come to a saving knowledge of truth. If a believer knows this, he will seek wisdom in an effort to reach others for God’s kingdom. A true believer loves wisdom, knowing that God gives wisdom and that he is alone knows what is best.
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I would agree, she made the point about God being the bedrock. I don’t think unbelievers can truly love wisdom because our wisdom comes from God alone. We should not be conformed to this world but be (or being) transformed.
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Can an individual truly love wisdom as God created us to love only if they are a believer? This statement, posed as a question has caused me to reflect on my own personal journey. I was raised in a loving traditional family and brought up in a liturgical church. I was driven to succeed in academics, art, athletics, and had a vast social network of friends and family. I graduated high school with high honors and attended community college and transferred to a 4 year university. I enjoyed school and the acquiring of knowledge and critical thinking was fun. To say that I loved wisdom wouldn’t be wrong, however, the context was different. I was living for the temporal, it was a way to a means. It was a task to be completed, a goal to accomplish. At the age of 23, I was married, in college, and living for the next best thing this world had to offer and was finding that all of the knowledge that I was gaining was not satisfying my soul.
At 23 I accepted the free gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ and He lovingly allowed my husband to submit his life to the Lord around the same time. I was experiencing something new in my heart, soul, and headspace. It was like I had only been looking through the books on the library return cart, thinking this was all there was and then the librarian flipped on the lights to reveal aisles and aisles of books. So, then instead of pursuing knowledge, I was in pursuit of God. Not as a checklist or a goal to accomplish, but to satisfy my soul with a relationship with the creator of the Universe. So, I would also contend that only a believer is able to truly love wisdom as God created us to love.
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Yes, I agree. As she stated, God is the bedrock. He is the beginning of everything. People without God have a “I-Life” as my pastor says. Everything is for their gratification. Christians have God’s love, we love the learn the truths about God. When we learn more about God, we gain wisdom. As we grow closer to God, we gain wisdom. It is the love of God that gives us wisdom.