I am neither zealous nor wise. I’ve lost
the youthful zeal of my teens and early 20’s. It died a painful
death. At the age of 33 I am still to young to be regarded as wise. I’m more zealous than some, yet others are more. I’m wiser than some,
and not yet wise to others. Not fitting neatly into categories, perhaps
standing on middle ground I will try to examine both sides.
Chances are an old man will tell you wisdom is
better than zeal but a young man will quickly argue the opposite. To
often the young mistake knowledge for wisdom and suffer for it. Yet the
aged equate years with wisdom. American culture loves everything new and
the shiny except wine, while many other cultures value tradition, thinking the
older the better.
What role does knowledge play in all of
this? To often I’m afraid the young confuse knowledge and access to
information as wisdom. In the age of smart phones and digital technology, that
moves information faster than a speeding bullet, everyone has the power of knowledge
at their fingertips. Producing in us a false sense of wisdom. Let’s not forget
that smart phones don’t make smart people and they won’t ever make us wise.
I remember a sign hanging on walls of my alma
mater’ which read, “Knowledge comes from college but Wisdom comes from God.” I
never forgot that simple sign. I believe God values both wisdom and zeal
equally and the person that gains both is blessed.
The role of knowledge is significant and can
enhance or erode our wisdom and zeal. An excess of knowledge causes
everything to appear grey; leading us to value man more than God and the result
is that we begin to fear man more than God. This is a good definition for
folly. But what does the Word say? For it contains more wisdom than a thousand
scholars.
The Bible says that knowledge puffs us up,
making us think we are greater than we are. Knowledge is a tricky fellow even
for the experienced. It can also deceive the grey haired causing them to
believe they are wise then pride creeps in. The Pharisees are perfect
examples of the danger of desiring knowledge more than wisdom. In their
zeal to keep the law they missed the one who fulfilled the law. Knowledge
is something we must master so that it enhances our wisdom and zeal so it
doesn’t erode them.
What is Biblical Wisdom? In his book, “Knowing
God” J.I. Packer defines wisdom as, “The power to see, and the inclination to
choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining
it. It’s the practical application of moral goodness… For us to be truly wise
our intelligence and cleverness must be harnessed to a right end.” Wisdom helps
us know how and when to apply knowledge as well as knowing when to withhold
knowledge for the sake of others.
Solomon was a man that desired Wisdom more than
anything else and God was so pleased with his desire that he gave it to
him. Solomon became arrogant and disobeyed God and wasn’t willing to be
corrected which lead him to ruin. David on the other hand was also wise
and when he disobeyed God and was corrected he repented thus God blessed him.
What is Biblical Zeal? Every revolution
throughout history was motivated by zeal. Some brought healthy change
others were crushed. David wrote: “Zeal for your house consumes me.” The word
used here in the original biblical language means a holy jealousy. Moses
killed an Egyptian for abusing a slave. Moses’ zeal was human and
therefore impure. A crime fueled by jealously in the bad sense. Peter’s zeal
led him to make promises to Jesus that he couldn’t keep. His zeal was the
type of zeal defined in Romans 10:2-3 that is no based on godly knowledge.
I think our tendency is to think that we can
have either wisdom or zeal but we can’t posses both. I’m learning that we
need both, and in fact they go together like Salt and Pepper. Our zeal
for God leads us to a deeper relationship with him, who gives wisdom
freely. And as our wisdom increases it increases our zeal for God. Wisdom
increases zeal and zeal increases wisdom they feed each other. A quick
reminder, there are godly versions of wisdom and zeal but there are also human
or counterfeit versions. We want to pursue the former.
I once heard a wise old preacher talking about
the church and he said, “We need the zeal of the youth to keep the fire burning
BUT we also need the wisdom of the elders to keep the youth from burning the
place down.” His statement made me smile at the time and it’s true. So
how do we keep the zealous from ignoring wisdom and how do we keep the wise
from snuffing out zeal? I don’t know except that humility and mutual
submission seem like good places to start.
