As a self-admitted nerd, I love learning all the things. My boys know that watching Jeopardy with me fills my love tank to overflowing. In jest one night, they did a mock spelling bee with me. It made my month. All that to say, I am a lover of knowledge. If you sit with me long enough, I will likely recommend a book or share a tidbit about some random field of interest that has commanded my attention of late.

On my best days, my desire to share knowledge comes from a place of genuine excitement; on my worst days, my desire to share knowledge comes from a place of clamoring for acknowledgement and recognition. Sometimes I want you to know out of pure motives; sometimes I need you to know out of impure motives. The difference between these two makes a world of difference.

I will never forget the day in college that I read a verse that cut through me like a knife. I remember the dining hall table I was sitting at when I read Proverbs 14: 33: “Wisdom rests in the heart of a man with understanding.”

Up until that point, I would have thought myself wise. But, wisdom rests, it doesn’t clamor. It does not need to make itself known. It can sit quietly and rest until prompted by the Holy Spirit. And most of the time, I wanted my knowledge to be known.

Wisdom from Above vs. Wisdom from Below

Reading Proverbs 14 sent me on a cross referencing chase to understand godly wisdom. This chase quickly landed me in James’s letter to the church in Jerusalem. Had I not understood the context, I would have sworn James was speaking directly to my noisy knowledge.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic…But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere” (James 3: 13–15, 17).

Apparently, God’s brand of wisdom looks, feels, and acts very differently than the fleshly brand and the worldly brand.

The apostle Paul hits a similar chord in speaking to the Corinthians who were constantly chasing the gifts that drew a crowd: “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13: 2).

Discerning our Hearts

When I feel the desire or need to share something with someone, I try to run through the aforementioned passage in James. I also ask myself a few searching questions: “Would I be excited for someone else to share this truth with this person?” and “Is sharing this knowledge meeting my need or theirs?”

Amy Carmichael addresses the need to claim knowledge as my own in powerfully in her short but convicting and Christ-centered book If:

“If when I am able to discover something which has baffled others, I forget Him who revealeath the deep and secret things, and knoweth what is in the darkness and showeth it to us; if I forget that it was He who granted that ray of light to His most unworthy servant, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

Wisdom will and must make itself known in the right times and the right ways. After all, wisdom is intended to be shared. But the question of why and how matter significantly. Is my knowledge noisy or can it rest? Does it need to make itself known or is it ready and willing to make God’s glory known in a way that does good to my neighbor?

As we approach election season, it may be good for us to search our hearts and ask afresh for the godly wisdom which comes down from above. I know my heart needs the constant reminder of the difference between noisy knowledge and knowledge that can truly rest in and point towards the All-Wise One!