Is it possible to know nothing? Or is it more likely to know much that isn’t so? Is uninformed and mistaken the same as unaware and clueless? Does certitude lead to arrogance or perhaps to inner peace? Knowledge is not a firm absolute. At one time intelligent learned people presumed the Earth was flat. At a period in our past no one knew about the atom or the human circulatory system. Knowledge changes….expands….is corrected. It seems to be a geometric process. The more we learn or discover, the faster we find newer subsequent nuggets of knowing. Wisdom, on the other hand, is the understanding and recognition of “what you do NOT know.” Wisdom has the capacity to place knowledge in context. Wisdom does not worship knowledge or information, but uses it as a tool for seeking Truth.
Knowledge can involve the intimate awareness of sophisticated concepts and theorems along with their presumptions and applications. On the other hand knowledge can be defined as a collection of “facts”….some meaningful and others trivial. Some are “true,” and others have yet to be verified. Knowledge expands as we learn more, and as others increase their knowledge and add it to the accumulation of information. One of the ironies of knowledge expansion is that it becomes increasingly more difficult for us to identify worthy or salient knowledge simply because of the sheer volume of available information. Thus we have the paradox of knowing much more but with decreasing confidence in its “true-ness.” In essence “what you know” is less important than “what does it mean?”
As was mentioned earlier, wisdom includes the ability to sift through a vast amount of information or knowledge and applying it for useful purposes. True wisdom also includes a moral component so that not only is knowledge usefully applied but is done so for moral reasons and goals. Wisdom requires discernment. One must sift knowledge for its usefulness, practicality and character. “Knowing” is not enough. A wise person will determine the best method for converting information and knowledge into useful and upright decision-making.
You have probably encountered some leaders in either the private or public sectors who would not make a decision without enough knowledge to assure a 99% certainty. Quite often this type of leader suffers from brain-freeze and inaction because that level of certitude is nearly impossible. On the flip side you may have encountered the type of leader who when the certainty meter crosses 50% surges into action….sometimes with preventable and disastrous outcomes. These two types of leaders are the indecisive and the rash. Each of us responds similarly to them depending upon our comfort level with the available information. Thus, discernment is a critical element for leaders…..and followers because we must discern whom to follow. Discernment or wisdom is greater than knowledge although knowledge is vitally important for its application. Wisdom also includes experience, trust, faith and basic understanding of human nature. Obviously an intelligent person is not always wise, but a wise person is invariably intelligent. The ultimate development of wisdom is faith. Consider that there are legions of highly intelligent people who lack wisdom because they have so little faith.
There are critics who believe faith to be the refuge of the unintelligent and the uninformed. Their assumption arises from their lack of discernment because they confuse faith with blind adherence. True faith is not blind and certainly not mindless. True faith springs from the well of wisdom and is flavored by the additives of knowledge. Knowledge is limited by our individual limitations, but wisdom can discern which knowledge is useful, practical and reasonable. Faith builds on wisdom by adding the moral component. Knowledge will choose the best choice for a given outcome. Wisdom will choose the better choice for a given path. Faith will choose the only moral choice.
Faith and wisdom are concerned with justifications and processes whereas knowledge is driven by results. Therefore it is not incidental or accidental that the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:1 that we are justified by faith. When you harness knowledge, wisdom and faith for moral and courageous purposes, your justification is verified through your faith. Knowledge is data. Wisdom is discernment. Faith is a decision. Choose wisely.
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