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How To Become Wise

We all need more wisdom in our life. I have a firm belief that wisdom is something God wants for us. Why? Because of just how much it will help us. So I wrote a 31 day guide for how to become more wise. Check out the introductory section below.

Welcome to the Trailhead.

I stood there just staring ahead with a big decision to make. I’m sure the importance of my pending choice was etched upon my face like a warrior choosing his weapon. This decision would set the course of my life for the foreseeable future. The weighty decision pressed down on me. I could feel my kids gathered behind me anticipating the outcome of this life-changing decision. Finally, it was time. “I’ll take three cups of chocolate with sprinkles and hot fudge please.” Whew, that was a close one.

Obviously, my choice of ice cream on an afternoon outing with my kids doesn’t carry the weight of the kingdom. But you and I make weighty decisions all the time. Sometimes they are overt decisions like whether to switch jobs, move to a new home, or make some other life altering change. Other decisions are subtle. They are the habits we carve out one choice at a time; in the way we spend our moments, consume our entertainment, or talk with friends.

Nothing we do is wasted. All of it matters—it shapes who we are. Do you know what no one has ever said to me? “Wow, I hope I am not a wise person.” I’ve never received a text that read, “I just made a really huge decision and I hope it was the wrong one.” That has never happened. 

On the flip side, it seems like someone reaches out to me every day needing help with a decision. They are facing a choice. They come in search of a friendly voice. Someone willing and able to offer counsel. Someone who will point them down the trail.

Once upon a time I was really afraid of letting people down. Now, many years later, I know letting people down kind of comes with breathing. We disappoint each other all the time. That’s not me being cynical. That’s called honesty. 

Do you know what would really let my friends down when they look for help? If I offer empty platitudes rather than earned Wisdom. So that’s precisely what I try to serve up; Wisdom.

Let me be really clear about something that won’t surprise you. It’s something my Mom, my wife, and a great many others learned a long time ago. I frequently falter where Wisdom is concerned. I don’t have Wisdom penned up in my backyard where I go to collect some whenever I have a need. That would be wonderful; But weird. Wisdom doesn’t work that way. There aren’t any tricks. There are no shortcuts to Wisdom. 

There isn’t a Wisdom Genie you can carry around in your pocket. You can’t throw a coin into the Wisdom Well. You can’t attain Wisdom wishing upon a star. No pots of Wisdom are waiting at the end of the rainbow. No Wisdom is to be had if you manage to chase down a unicorn.

Wisdom isn’t a miracle. Wisdom is earned. Wisdom is harvested one hard turn of the soil at a time. You acquire wisdom across a lifetime of trial and error. Good luck. I laughed when I wrote that because it sounds so fatalistic. Wisdom isn’t quite that hard to get. It’s not magic, but it’s not the secret prize waiting at the end of the Hunger Games either. 

There is a path to Wisdom. Sometimes it’s a clear next step on a well-trodden trail. Sometimes it’s a bushwhack through the jungle. Either way it is worth it because Wisdom is amazing. It calls to us from across human history. We can find it in poetry. We can sit at the feet of our elders and learn many lessons. Wisdom is incredible.

It’s no small wonder that God put Wisdom on the hearts of the many men who wrote what would come to be known as the Bible. In fact, right in the heart of the book many people call the “Word of God” is what is also fondly referred to as the “Wisdom Literature”. That’s no accident.

Wisdom will guard your heart from many things. But it will guard your head, your home, your wallet, and your well-being too.

Sometimes when I talk to people about Wisdom they get this look in their eyes like it’s too hard a thing to chase down. As if the pursuit of Wisdom is some grandiose quest God dangles in front of us like a carrot on a stick. Look, when it comes to God there are no carrots and there are no sticks. There’s just a really great Dad who loves his kids and wants what’s best for them.

Wisdom is not something God wants from you. Wisdom is something God wants FOR you.

In the heart of the Wisdom Literature is a small book that captures the culture of an ancient people led by wise kings. That’s not something to be balked at. This small book of thirty one short chapters holds the collective Wisdom of a kingdom that has long fascinated the world. And for good reason.

Have you ever found yourself facing a decision only to wonder, “what is the wise thing here?” Most of us have. Still, plenty of decisions are made with little regard for Wisdom. In fact I often sit and scratch my head wondering at whether or not we have decided to ditch Wisdom altogether!

The stories of the Bible show us that ancient people did the same thing. They routinely walked away from Wisdom. They made other choices. And their path suffered for it.

Wisdom carries weight, and it opens opportunities. The effects of wise living shape the world before you in so many ways; Even as the effect it has on your personal well-being shapes you for your own good and the betterment of others.

It would be a shame to leave Wisdom on the table. Instead, what if we leaned in when another shot at Wisdom showed up? What if we treated Wisdom like an old friend? What if we could sit at the feet of Wisdom and catch something wonderful? We can.

While becoming wise is not an overnight event or a one-off magic moment, it is a process that you can both invite yourself into and initiate. God made it possible one statement at a time all through the Proverbs.

What is a proverb? It’s a short saying packed with significance. And the Book of Proverbs is a collection of them unlike anything else in human history.

Over the next thirty one days I hope you will lean in to see what Wisdom has to say. Remember that it’s not asking anything of you. Rather it wants something amazing for you. A life of wisdom is better than you can begin to imagine. 

Wisdom leads us toward God. It brings about a unique sense of how to live. It provides order for how to follow and direction for where to go next. Wisdom cuts off the effect of chaos and invites us into a life that bears the remarkable stamp of someone in pursuit of God’s best life for them.

This short book is not exhaustive. You won’t look up at the end and say, “I’ve arrived at Wisdom.” But hopefully you’ll look up after these next steps together and realize you’re off to a great start.

Everyday together is meant to cultivate another step forward. I’ve written short segments I hope will encourage your heart, your head, and your hands as you set off to see what Wisdom has for you.

I hope you won’t just read it. Information offers us almost nothing until we do something with it. So each daily entry comes with a challenge. Sometimes the step I’m asking you to take is one you’ll do internally. Wisdom has to have a place to reside. You’ll work that in prayer and patience as you reflect on the thought of the day. There are also moments when I challenge you to get out into your world and do something. Both are vital.

As you put it all together you will feel yourself moving. It will seem a small thing if this is all new to you. Don’t be discouraged. Just keep going. If you miss a day don’t beat yourself up. Just don’t miss two.

If you really want to squeeze the trail for everything on offer, gather in the company of some good friends and take the journey together. There are questions at the end of each week to guide a group discussion. I can’t wait to sit around a campfire someday and find out what you’ve learned.

Thanks for checking this introduction to “The Wisdom Trail Guide: 31 Steps to A Life of Wisdom”. If you want to take your next steps toward a life of Wisdom order your copy today.

You Didn't Say Yes AND THEN It Happened Anyway

There you were. Going about your normal everyday life. Sure it was boring, amazing, or terrible sometimes, but it was yours. AND THEN.

And then everything changed without your permission. Your loved one was diagnosed with cancer. Your best friend took his own life. The love of your life shattered your trust.

On the other side of “AND THEN” nothing seems the same. There was a you before and a you after. They couldn’t seem more different.

And then

You were happy before. You were whole before. You were loving, kind, hard working, engaged, dedicated, and faithful. AND THEN.

AND THEN can be a hard place to live.

I’ve had a few AND THEN’s. I’m sure you have too. We are all experiencing a monumental world-changing AND THEN, right now.

In five, ten, twenty, or even fifty years from now you will talk about 2020 and say things like, “I was working hard on this,” “my son was getting ready to graduate high school,” “we were getting ready for our wedding,” AND THEN.

AND THEN COVID19 swept across the world like a bad dream. AND THEN thousands of people died. AND THEN my business foundered. AND THEN I was trapped in my house with all of my painful memories. AND THEN hope seemed to flicker the world over.

AND THEN can be a hard place to live.

You didn’t give it permission to happen. AND THEN it happened anyways. What now? What happens next shapes everything.

Yes, you experienced irrevocable change. It happened on a scale terrible and exhausting. The fallout from your catastrophe can’t be overstated or overlooked. It shaped your everyday circumstances. Your job changed. Your marriage changed. Your bank account faltered.

AND THEN makes us struggle not only with what’s going on around us, but also what’s inside. We ask big questions and the weight of their missing answers feels too big for us. It’s terrible. It’s unfair. How can this be the way the world is supposed to work? How?

What did your life look like after your AND THEN? The most tragic thing is what would happen if we decided to let life after AND THEN remain the same. Think about it.

Right now I’m trying to help people navigate their AND THEN while wading through my own. One friend was supposed to get married two days ago. She didn’t decide her love stopped after AND THEN. Did she put on her pretty dress and walk down to meet her man in front of dozens of her family and friends? No. Will she. You bet. Her love didn’t die with AND THEN.

So, yeah—your life changed big time. You never told it that was alright with you. But it was never going to be alright with you.

As a man of faith I don’t believe for a moment God wished any of us to experience the kind of wreck AND THEN often makes of our lives. He didn’t orchestrate your bankruptcy, illness, unfaithfulness, or even death on a global scale. He loves you too much. He is too good. Also, he is too able to bring a better AND THEN than the one you’re living through right now. What if you let him?

You didn’t’ say “Yes” to the big thing that changed everything, but what if you said “Yes” to the BIGGER God who also wanted the best for you? Do know what would happen? AND THEN God.

You were bankrupt AND THEN God opened a door for a new opportunity. You were sick AND THEN God helped you find the right doctor. You were sad AND THEN God sent a friend. You were without hope AND. THEN. GOD.

Life is more or less a constant series of changes. Big and small, hard and easy, long and short. We look back and see the old through a lens of the new.

When you give grace a shot at your right now AND THEN is just a turning point. So give the best love in the universe a crack at it.

The old things will still be there. Don’t despair. But you won’t have to wake up and shake hands with them anymore. They won’t follow you around through the house like some nasty stray you never invited in. In fact, you’ll only catch glimpses of them from time to time. They’ll try to sneak back in. But they only get to change it all once without your permission. AND THEN is a one time thing. That’s why it’s such a hard place to live. You were never meant to live there.

Let God give you the better part of life. The one that turns the page on your bad AND THEN and shows you joy, peace, and love on the other side. That’s a great place to live. I’m so glad it found me.