“When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11 NLT).
Probably one of the most important and foundational keys for living is wisdom. If you’re a parent, wisdom is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child. Unfortunately, we aren’t born with wisdom. Neither does wisdom just somehow come upon us when we reach a certain age. We don’t turn fifty and suddenly, it’s like, Man, I feel really wise now! A person might be fifty years old and have a head full of white hair, but that doesn’t automatically mean he or she is wise.
Have you ever heard someone say, “Wow! So-and-so is really wise beyond their years”? That doesn’t mean that person has a special gift or an anointing. But it describes a person who has chosen to grow up and get wisdom. There are some 30-year-olds who have more wisdom than some 50-year-olds. Why is that? Because some people don’t want to grow up. They don’t want to mature or take responsibility. They may be older in age, but they still act like a child and make poor decisions. They haven’t grown in wisdom.
In 1 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT) the Bible talks about growing up and putting away childish things. If we want to grow up and mature, we have to make a decision to put away childish things—childish talk, childish thinking, and childish reasoning. We have to make a choice to grow in wisdom.
Where do we get wisdom? From reading God’s Word. God is smarter than we are. He is the author of wisdom, so if we want to get wisdom, we need to make it a priority to read His Word.
Take Away:
Did you know that you have to go get wisdom? The Bible says, “Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!” (Proverbs 4:7 NLT). But you have to do the “getting.” Make it a priority to get wisdom, and then teach your kids how to get wisdom. A great place to start learning about wisdom is by reading through the book of Proverbs. A good idea might be to take time to get together as a family and read a chapter a day.
