What is wisdom? The general definition is this: truth acted upon. I always found that interesting because it’s easy to associate wisdom with people who simply know a lot, but it’s deeper than that. There’s a difference between intellect and wisdom and the differentiator is one’s actions.

I was reading through Matthew chapter seven this morning and came across this passage. “Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). And then later, “and everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man… “ (Matthew 7:26).

What struck me was this. The difference between the wise man and the foolish man, according to Jesus, had nothing to do with knowledge – it had everything to do with action. I found myself quite convicted here. I don’t know about you, but I can tend to fall back on answers in my head while failing to allow those answers to inform my decisions.

Every decision we make is rooted in something. Remember that line your parents used to say when you were younger, “there’s a reason for everything I do.” Often times used to explain some action that we didn’t agree with. There is a truth here that runs far deeper than a parenting deflection – there is actually a reason behind everything you are doing. Some of these reasons we are well aware of, while others run subconsciously under our awareness radar.

Back to Jesus’ words. Both the wise man and the foolish man have been exposed to the words of Jesus. These men then have a choice as to whether they are going to allow Jesus’ words to inform their decisions moving forward or not. I think back to my baseball days. There were coaches I had that I esteemed and there were others I questioned. I hung on to the words of the esteemed coaches and quickly put their words into action. The coaches I questioned, even though I heard their words, I filtered what I heard and at times left their advice. 

We cannot conform to every type of teaching in the world. Take losing weight as an example. You could talk to 10 different weight-loss gurus and get 10 completely different calls to action. Studying his or her words will only help to the extent to which you choose to adopt their teaching.

Following Jesus is similar. There are professors who know the New Testament and the historical character of Jesus with a near earthly completion, yet don’t believe. They could give you all the “right” answers, but their way of life hasn’t been changed because they refuse to allow the teachings of Jesus and the Holy Spirit to take root in themselves and inform their decision making.

Friends, what are the teachings that are informing your choices? Do you know them? I want to encourage you to wrestle with this question. You could start with questions like: Why am I working the job I’m working? How would I define a successful life? What am I looking for in life?

The wise and the foolish man weren’t all that different. What separated them was what they chose to inform their decisions. If following Jesus is something you desire to step into, start by reading Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapters 5-7. Let’s practice together not only being hearers of the Word but doers – let’s act on the truth and thus embody wisdom.