SCRIPTURE: Job 28
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find understanding? [Job 28:12]
God alone understands the way to wisdom; he knows where it can be found, for he looks throughout the whole earth and sees everything under the heavens. [Job 28:23-24]
And this is what he says to all humanity: ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.’ [Job 28:28]
Sometimes we act so wise; we are like teenagers who are convinced that they have things figured out, and that their parents know nothing about real life.
We have discovered so much, we have made huge accomplishments in science, technology and in discerning how the Universe operates – so much that we don’t need God.
But despite our amazing knowledge, have we become wise?
Despite all of our advancements and discoveries, we are still foolishly destroying our lives and our universe, we are still miserable and disappointed, lost and lonely.
Job’s answer is that no matter how much information we gather, without God we will never be wise.

At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way. [Luke 10:21]
Why is Jesus thankful that God keeps things from the wise and clever, yet reveals them to the childlike?
Because it is foolish pride that drives the wise and the clever; they cannot discover truth because they are blinded by their own arrogance and selfishness.
Those who reject God will eventually discover that they cannot survive or succeed without Him.
God made us, we were made for Him, everything holds together in Him; apart from Him everything falls apart.

True wisdom begins with recognizing that God is real, and that He is the most important reality in the universe!
God is the source of all things, all things hold together in Him; true wisdom comes from God, is rooted in God.
To try to figure out life and truth without God is like trying to figure out life on this planet without oxygen.
Both God and oxygen are essential and real – even if the ancients did not know what oxygen was, even if they denied that it existed, their lives still depended on it.
The same with God!

Will our world get better and better the more we discover, the more we learn, the more we accomplish?
Have we found more happiness with all of our scientific and technological advancements?
The answer is obvious… NO, and we will not, we cannot not!
We do not need more knowledge, we need more wisdom – and God is the source of wisdom!

PRAYER:
Lord, how is it that we can be so smart, and yet so stupid? Why do so many people in primitive cultures seem to be happier, more rooted than we are here in the west, with all of our knowledge? Make me wise, Lord, not just smart!