Restoring Christian Finances:

What is Wisdom.?
And How Do We
Get It?
Brian Abshire, Ph.D.
The third installment if the unpublished book
(Restoring Christian Finances: Biblical Principles
if Building GodlY Wealth" l?J Brian Abshire.
A new chapter appears in each issue. This book)
the first in the (Restoring Biblical Principles"
series will soon be available
from Providence Press at www.
providencepress. com.
One definition of a fool in
Proverbs is someone who refuses
to seek wisdom (prov. 1 :22). Their
lack of wisdom isn't the reason they
are considered a fool, but their lack
of seeking. Proverbs repeatedly
urges young men to acquire wisdom,
and seek for it like buried treasure
(prov. 2: 1-7). Wisdom is not something they have yet, for
they are supposed to go out and find it. So simply to say
someone lacks wisdom is not to say they are a fool.
This leads to our first principle: Christians mllst seek
wisdom in order to acquire it. It is not something we receive
at birth. Nor does wisdom come just by gaining life
experience. Ok, I agree, this does not seem like rocket
science. Nevertheless, I know some Christians who act
like merely listening to a few good sermons (or reading a
few good books) makes them wise. It isn't that easy, but
it isn't hard either. God does not command us to be wise
without telling us how to go about it.
James 1:5 says, " ... but if atry lacks Jvisdom, let him ask
if God, Jvho gives to all men generouslY and Ivithout reproach, and
it Ivill be given him. "The first step to acquire wisdom, then,
is to seek it in prayer from the source-God. To ask
God for what we need in prayer is to take the first step
to becoming wise. Proverbs 1:7 says "The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom." When we ask God
for what we need, we acknowledge our deficiency. We
also demonstrate that we know God has what we need,
that He is in control, and is therefore able to give it to
us. When we humble ourselves before God in prayer, we
exhibit an attitude of respectful trust in His benevolence.
All these things are part of the biblical idea of what it
means to fear God. When we pray and ask for wisdom,
if done in faith without any doubting, as James says, we
show that we have taken the first step towards becoming
wise-fearing God.
Once we truly seek wisdom in prayer, we have God's
promise that He Ivill give it. But, exactly how does He go
about giving it? Do we pray, and then sit in a dark room
with a few candles and wait for UPS to knock at the door
with a special package from Heaven? On the contrary,
along with prayer, the Bible says, we must get up off our
knees and work diligently to find wisdom. If all we do is
pray without following the rest of God's path to wisdom,
we will have to suffer the consequences by living foolishly.
This does not necessarily mean that we are a fool, but
we might well have been acting like one. In other words,
even if I am not a fool, if I live more or less just like a
fool, I will have pretty much the same kind of life and
consequences.
For example, the idea that germs
cause disease, universally accepted
today, was a radical concept just
over a hundred years ago. People
scoffed at doctors who washed
their hands before treating different
patients. Scalpels and other surgical
instruments were simply wiped off
with a dirty cloth before the doctor
operated on the next patient. Not
surprisingly, infection, gangrene, and
post-operative death were common. Even the smallest
wounds could fester and kill the patient. Wounded
soldiers routinely had entire limbs amputated because
there was no way to treat the infection from a small
bullet hole. Women and babies routinely died as doctors
unwittingly carried diseases from one mother to the next.
But, were these men "fools?"
Those who knew no better were not fools. But
later, some of them were. When one doctor pointed
out the correlation between cleanliness and disease,
they ridiculed him to the point of literally driving him
insane. Remember, one of the Biblical definitions
of a fool is someone who refuses to learn from his
mistakes. Other doctors eventually saw that there was
a relationship between hand washing and infectious
disease. Accordingly, they changed their behavior and
saved millions of lives. Yet for a long time thousands,
even hundreds of thousands, of people died because
doctors acted foolishly. They did not understand the way
that God's creation worked, and as a result, they lived
the COUNSEL of CHALCEDON 23
Restoring Christian Finances: What is Wisdom?
like fools and reaped the same rewards as fools without
necessarily being fools.
Often we Christians live our lives, particularly in regard
to our finances, similarly to these doctors. We may well
be acting like fools, not because we are in open rebellion,
but because we lack wisdom. We do not know how to get
the wisdom that God promises and, consequently, we live
contrary to the way that God has established His creation to
run. We then suffer the inevitable result.
Think of it this way; you promise to feed your children.
Your ten-year-old son asks for some breakfast. You tell
him to go to the cupboard for a bowl, go to the pantry for
some cereal, and then go to the refrigerator for some milk.
You have provided just what you promised. He asked for
food, and you told him where to find it, but it does require
a little effort on his part to obtain. What would you think
of a child screaming and crying, "My Daddy won't feed
me?" If the child refuses to do what you told him to do and
goes hungry, it is not your problem, but his. And, as a good
father, though you would rebuke and correct your son, you
would let him go hungry until he got off his chair and did
what you told him to do! And, if he still sits there whining
and crying, you might even have to spank him to give him
an incentive to obey you and to feed his tummy!
God promises wisdom to those who ask of Him, and
He then gives it richly in the Scriptures (with the Proverbs
being one of the clearest places). We must take the time
and the effort to study those Scriptures. The difference
between a fool and a man who simply lacks wisdom is that
the godly man will learn from his mistakes, but the fool
continues in his folly. A fool will not change his course.
He will not take advice (prov. 26:12, 16, etc.), he does not
seek after wisdom (prov. 1:22), and he is perfectly happy
doing the same thing over and over again no matter how
disastrous the outcome (prov. 26:11). One of the classic
definitions of insanity involves someone doing something
over and over again expecting differing results. Are you
living this way?
Take for example a family that does not control their
spending; let's call the father "Bob." "Bob" allows his family
to amass considerable credit-card debt, paying exorbitant
interest rates every month, because he does not carefully
budget their finances. Say "Bob" then receives financial
counseling to take out a small mortgage on his house, so
that he can replace the high interest rates of his credit cards
with the significantly lower interest of a home equity loan.
Now, the family still has debt, but "Bob" is in effect saving
hundreds of dollars each month with a lower interest loan.
However, if "Bob" does not change the behaviors that got
the family into trouble in the first place, their situation could
get even worse. If they continue to live beyond their means
(and if they are so foolish so as not to cut up their credit
cards), then they could end up amassing new credit card debt
on top of their new mortgage payments! They would then
have a mortgage and high interest credit card debt!
24 the COUNSEL of CHALCEDON
Are you like Bob? Are you in one financial emergency
after another, your life an ongoing economic disaster? Do
you nevertheless continue to do the same foolish things?
Do you try to justify, rationalize, and find mitigating
circumstances as to why what you are doing is okay? You
may be acting like a fool, then, doing the same thing over
and over again, expecting the result to improve. It is time
to walk wisely. If you find this description fits you, pause
before you read on, and make up your mind to seek God's
wisdom and follow it from now on.
There is another possible explanation. If you find
yourself in situations like the ones described above, you may
actually be a fool. You may not simply be an unfortunate
soul who lacks wisdom and does not know any better. You
may need to be rebuked and not coddled. If this is the case,
as your Christian brother, I say to you to knock it off, and
repent, and follow the Lord.
We need to ask ourselves some very hard questions if
we want to change our economic situation: are we willing
to seek wisdom, to value it, to cherish it, and then do what
is necessary to apply it in our lives? Will we receive sound,
godly, and wise counsel and make the necessary changes, or
will we insist on continuing to do things our own way? The
answer to these questions reveals whether a man is poor
because of a lack of wisdom or because he is a fool.
What is this "wisdom" that is so important to have?
Though we gave a brief definition earlier, a more detailed
explanation is now in order. Wisdom is understanding,
accepting, and applying certain unchanging and universal
principles based on the character of God that are built into
the very fabric of creation. Proverbs 3:19 says, 'The Lord
fry Jnsdom founded the earth, fry understanding He established
the heavens ... " God designed the creation to reflect His
nature, being, and glory (ps. 19:1ff). In Proverbs 8:22
personified Wisdom says, 'The Lord possessed me at the
beginning of His way, before His works of old. From
everlasting I was established, from the beginning from the
earliest times of the earth." Thus, not only did God flse
wisdom in creating the earth, He also possessed wisdom as
a part of His unchangeable nature. Part of God's glory is
His wisdom, and He created all things, using wisdom, to
reflect His glory. Therefore, the Creation contains within
it principles of godly wisdom. When we understand,
accept, and practice biblical wisdom, the whole realm of
the Creation responds according to its design and purpose,
typically rewarding us with increased prosperity.
Wisdom is the application of the knowledge of the
One True God and of His ways: " ... the fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom" (prov. 1:7). By definition,
the way that God does something is the right way to do it.
Men must then conform their ways to God's or suffer the
consequences for doing things the wrong way. God's Word
reveals the way God does things, and the way God tells us
to do things. Submission is our duty. We must humble
Restoting Christian Finances: What is Wisdom?
ourselves before Him and, in the words of the Aposde Paul,
"walk in a worthy manner" (Eph. 4:1).
Sin is the basic orientation of men to be gods unto
themselves (cf. Gen. 3:5)-wanting the world to revolve
around them and wanting to determine good and evil for
themselves. It takes a sovereign act of God in His grace to
redeem man from this self-orientation. Sanctification is the
process whereby we put off the old nature in its rebellion to
God, and learn to walk in the new nature of obedience to
Christ (Eph. 4:17ff). It takes time, diligence, and sustained
attentiveness to the things of God in order to achieve
wisdom.
God gives us His Law (i.e., the entirety of His
commandments, statutes, and ordinances revealed
throughout Scripture) to govern our lives. In Joshua 1:
8, He says, "This book of the Law shall not depart from
your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so
that you mqy be carifttl to do according to all that is written
in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and
then you shall have success," (emphasis added). It takes
time, thought, and attention to detail to work out all the
about how we should apply the moral law to particular
situations or "cases." This is where the meditation comes in;
we meditate on the Law in order to be careful to be able to
apply it to every possible area of life and living.
One of the most important Protestant creeds, The
Westminster Confession of Faith, encourages continued
study in order to determine the "general equity" of the Old
Testament Law, thereby helping us to see how it applies
today (WCF 19:4). This Confession understands that there
were certain unique laws given to Israel, but that there are
many others that still apply to all people, in all ages. Many
portions of the Old Testament Law pointed to Christ; i.e.,
contained pictures and shadows of Jesus that were intended
to lead the people to Christ (e.g., the so-called "ceremonial"
laws that concerned ritual aspects of worship). Were God's
commandments just arbitrary rules and regulations that
became simply irrelevant when Jesus came to earth?
Think about this example: one of the Old Testament
case laws requires a railing to be placed around the roof of
a house (Deut. 22:8). Is this just an obscure "ceremonial"
law applicable only to ancient Israel? Or, were there reasons
implications of His commands and, by the r-------L-------,
why God gave this specific command, and
if so, do these reasons continue to apply
grace of His Spirit, conform our lives to it.
Notice that prosperity results from careful
following of "all that is written in [the
Law]." The "all" is important. It is not just
academic understanding of theology that is
required, but also conforming our lives to
God's ways-all of them. There is a lot of
confusion and misinformation about the
Law that God required Joshua to meditate
on. Some see it as a stricdy legal code
given only for the temporary (in light of
history) observance of the ethnic nation of
. .. there were certain
unique laws given
to Israel, but there
are many others
that still applly to
all people, in all
to us today? A more detailed examination
will help us: in those days roofs were
flat, and when the weather was pleasant
people went up at the end of a day to eat
and to fellowship where it was cool. The
roof was actually comparable to a modern
living room. At night, when the lighting is
poor at best, and with no railing, someone
might fall off and be seriously injured or
even killed. The Law stated that if the
ages.
Hebrews called Israel. Yet if this were the case, then why
was Joshua commanded to meditate on it? When a traffic
sign says, "Speed Limit 55," contemplation is not required;
you just have to obey it! Yet, God commands us to meditate
upon His Law, so that we might be careful to do according
to all that is written in it. What is it about the Law that we
should meditate on it? It becomes clear that God sees the
Law as something more than stricdy a historically temporary
legal code for an ethnically isolated people.
The Old Testament Law is not simply a legal code.
Rather, it is an application of unchanging moral laws,
which laws God built right into the fabric of creation. It
isn't that we get the Laws from the creation, but that the
creation operates according to the Laws. These moral laws
are summarized in the Ten Commandments; but the Old
Testament also gives us case laws, which are specific ways
that this summary is to be worked out in various situations.
We are to study what God tells us to do here, so that we can
then figure out what He wants us to do there. That is why
they are called "case laws"; they give specific information
homeowner did not put a railing around his
house, and someone fell off and died, he was considered
"blood guilty." This meant that he was responsible to the
civil magistrate and could be held accountable for the life of
the dead man.
Does God's Law mandate railings around the roofs of
every single house today? Generally speaking, no, because
most of us have peaked roofs, and we do not entertain up
there. Yet, what about the situation where we happen to
have a deck coming off of one of our upstairs bedrooms?
Does the Law of Almighty God actually concern itself
with requiring you to put a rail around that deck? I would
argue, yes, it does, because God, the Lawgiver, takes life
very seriously, and we should, too. The general equity of
this Law here is that we are required to take certain actions
to prevent accidents, and, if we do not, then we can and
should be held liable. The specific application of the Law
which required a roof railing is no longer applicable (at least
to most of us), but the principle (or "general equity") behind
it remains valid and binding. If you live in a city up North
where it snows in the winter, you probably know that if
you do not clean the ice off your porch steps, and someone
the COUNSEL of CHALCEDON 25
Restoring Christian Finances: What is Wisdom?
slips and injures himself, you can be sued. This is a direct
modern application of this same Old Testament Law.
Now, consider that a case law isn't a law in and of itself.
It isn't a new law added to the Ten Commandments. It is
an application of one or more of the Ten Commandments
to everyday life. The sixth commandment, "You Shall Not
Murder," carries with it a responsibility to do all within
your power to protect the lives of others. Thus, the roof
rail case law is an extension and application of the sixth
commandment.
If we want to understand how the Word of God
applies to the details of life, we have to think about the
particular case laws, to meditate upon them. You have
to know what God says about roofs and railings, and in
light of this knowledge consider how this applies to other
principles that concern how we are to treat one another.
We must then prayerfully consider what God's "big idea" is
in providing us with this detailed information. We then
need to think through how a given universal, unchanging
principle applies to our situation. Lastly, we must walk in
accordance with what we have learned. Do what it says do,
or do not do what it prohibits. The Bible calls the result
of this process "wisdom." Thus, when we understand how
God's commands apply to specific life situations, and live
by those principles, we have wisdom. Not only must we
desire to understand the Word of God, and in particular the
case laws, but we must also possess a willingness to change
our lives accordingly. There is no virtue in merely having
knowledge without application (I Cor. 8:1).
Conclusion: Christians often suffer from economic
troubles because they lack wisdom and live foolishly. Even
though they are not necessarily fools just because they
lack wisdom, they will still reap the consequences of
foolish living. Wisdom requires that we live according to
the way God has created His world to operate. Wisdom
takes prayer, time and diligence to acquire. The fool is the
man who refuses to seek wisdom, or who refuses to put
knowledge gained into practice.
Proverbs for Further Consideration
8:32 "Notv therefore, 0 sons, listell to me,jor blessed are thl!J }vho
keep my }vqys. Heed instmction and be }v/se, and do not neglect
it. Blessed is the man }vho listens to me, }vatching dailY at my gates,
}vaiting at my dootposts. For he who finds me finds life and obtains
favorfrom the Lord. But he }vho sim against me it!fures himse(f; all
those }vho hate lJJe, love death. JJ
11: 14 '1f7 here there is no guidance, the people fall, but itl abut/dance
of cO/lllselors there is victory. JJ
Brian M. Abshire, (B.A., M.A., Th.M., Ph.D.) lives
Spokane, WA where he pastors Highlands Reformed
byterian Church. He has been married to Elaine for
years and has six children.
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26 the COUNSEL of CHALCEDON
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