What the World Needs Now Is … Wisdom

Many of us remember the popular song of a few decades ago, “What the World Needs Now Is Love.” Sung by Jackie DeShannon, Dionne Warwick and others, its simplistic, sentimental and even schmaltzy message assures us that if we just somehow conjure up feelings of love toward our fellow man, woman and child, the world will be a much better place.

 

I’m all in favor of this concept – at least in theory. But in reality, this idealistic notion falls short. It’s like saying, if you try hard enough, you can jump clear to the moon. 

 

Yes, Jesus Christ insisted on it. He instructed His followers, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). It’s pretty clear Jesus said what He meant and meant what He said.

 

And He didn’t confine this command to loving those who are like us. In His “sermon on the mount,” Jesus astounded His hearers in declaring, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44). How are you doing with that?

 

That’s exactly what Jesus said we’re to do – especially if we’re His disciples. But how? There are lots of theologians who have a better handle on that than me. But I’d like to suggest that besides love, what our world really needs now, perhaps even more, is wisdom.

 

Daily news broadcasts are rife with reports about pandemics, racial strife and injustice, economic turmoil, violence, threats of war, extreme weather and other natural calamities. I’m beginning to wonder if we’re seeing the onset of PTMD – Post-Traumatic Media Disorder – with the relentless bombardment of bad news. All we hear about are problems, problems, and more problems.

 

What we’d all prefer to hear about, I suspect, are solutions to those problems. We see plenty of hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth on the part of news commentators, politicians, and anyone else who can get themselves in front of a camera. However, with all the questions out there, there don’t seem to be many answers. Hence the need for wisdom.

 

Big problems inherently are complex, lacking easy answers. If the solutions were easy, they wouldn’t be problems for long. So-called “experts” can draw upon knowledge and information, but more often than not, it seems they’re looking for resolution in all the wrong places. What they desperately need is wisdom, and it can't be found on the shelves at Wal-Mart or ordered on Amazon.

 

So where can we find this wisdom that’s so conspicuously absent among many of the power brokers and influence peddlers in our world? I’d suggest there’s no better place to start than the Scriptures. In fact, its book of Proverbs opens with this declaration: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). Then it says, “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6).

 

Aptly referred to one of the Bible’s “wisdom books,” Proverbs is filled with principles and precepts for everyday living – including decision-making and problem-solving. How important is wisdom? Why can’t knowledge and information suffice? This brief passage explains why:

“Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her” (Proverbs 3:13-15).

 

Through the centuries we’ve had many individuals who have offered us words of wisdom, drawn from experience and keen observation. We have philosophers like Socrates and Plato; spiritual and social leaders like Confucius, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.; great men and women of history like Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller and Mother Teresa; even humorists like Will Rogers. But I believe the best source of timeless truth and unfailing wisdom is God and His Word.

 

I’ve mentioned this before, but often in life the road we’re traveling seems hopelessly obscured. We can’t begin to see which way we should go. Because of this, Proverbs 3:5-6 has always given me great assurance: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

 

Another passage makes this observation: “Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod for the back of him who lacks judgment. Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin” (Proverbs 10:14-15).

 

But how do we acquire this godly wisdom for negotiating the minefield we call everyday living? According to the apostle James, it’s no secret: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:6). The irony is, many of us never think to ask – or we’re too proud or self-assured to do so.

What formidable challenges are you facing today? What difficult decisions are you needing to make? How are we to cope with and respond to the ever-changing demands of life in the 21^st century? If you recognize your need for wisdom, discernment and understanding, the Lord says all we have to do is ask and He’ll be happy to provide what we need.