Last week at my home church and in our couple’s life group through our church, we
spent some time studying and reviewing Proverbs. If you haven’t read Proverbs, I
highly recommend it. Written by King David, it is laced with attributes, counsel, and
warnings against not gaining wisdom. As I reflected on wisdom in our world, I got to
thinking about where does one go to find wisdom and more importantly who are the
wise people we need to seek guidance from. We live in an age of being bombarded by
YouTube videos, podcasters, influencers and so many more media outlets all giving us
guidance. And, yes, most certainly I believe God’s infallible word – the Bible – is a
great place to start for wisdom from the teachings, stories, and parables that our Savior
provided. And, prayer is a great way to seek wisdom— pray and then pause and listen
and wait for His response – and that may not be immediate. But, on a practical level
how do we know who is wise among us and who is not? I certainly don’t have all the
answers but I do have some characteristics that I think help us know wise sages around
us vs. pretenders and here are a few characteristics (in no particular order):

1) Trustworthiness: Have you ever been in a conversation with someone who is
sharing some advice (or wisdom) with you but you simply don’t trust them. You
don’t trust their motives or you have some background with them that has broken
trust. Trustworthiness, built over time and repeated, is a cornerstone of whom
you seek wisdom from.

2) Selfless service: What is their motivation? Are they looking for something in
return or do they genuinely want to help you with wisdom? Are their motives
pure or are they “quid pro quo”? I find that some of the wisest people I know
and seek wisdom from don’t want something in return….they simply have a
servant’s heart to help others.

3) Experience: I’m not sure who said it but this is my version: Wisdom is simply
knowledge gained over time and applied through life experience. In other words,
I may not put as much value in someone giving me wisdom and advice if they
haven’t experienced a little of life and/or gone through a similar situation. I am
not saying that is always true as I know some very wise, young people who are
mature beyond their years in some areas. On the other hand, I also know some
elder statesmen who have the experience of life but have not applied any
knowledge (or atleast learned from past mistakes) and I’m not likely to seek them
out in certain circumstances.

4) Character/Values: Wisdom also requires a set of strong wholesome values and
character. And that is not something that is said or spoken but is demonstrated
through both words and actions over time, repeatedly. To me, individuals with a
strong spiritual compass that guides them and isn’t perfect, but has a healthy
sense of humility and knows their weaknesses and flaws, is someone with
wisdom.

Wisdom isn’t about being perfect or getting it right every time. I do think it is a journey
we never end….we should always be seeking to be wiser and gaining wisdom from our
own experiences (both good and bad) and from the men and women in our lives that
demonstrate wisdom and my advice is to look for those individuals in your network and
life that demonstrate the qualities above….odds are, they are wise in some area of life,
if not many, and can be a resource for others.