The Greed for Wisdom

Because I have nothing else to do with my time, I signed up to lead a bible study small group at my church. It was a decision I made on a whim, but we have had the best time with our group of girls. Small groups have always made me nervous in the past because I often feel like what I "get" out of the chapter we study can seem so different than what others get.

Nevertheless, my insistence on sharing my opinion persists. (It's a condition.) Last night was no exception. We talked about Genesis 2, and I pulled up something that I had written one day on my phone a couple of years ago. I can't remember what sparked the idea, but I just remember writing furiously in Evernote— like word vomit straight from my head to my fingers and thumbs. And now, I finally had a captive audience to share it with.

The Greed for Wisdom

The greed for wisdom is one of the first things that separated God and man, and it still is a stumbling block today.

Eve looked at the fruit and thought, "I will gain wisdom. I will be more like God." God had already shared much of his wisdom with Adam and Eve, but by trying to bypass God in attaining more, she attempted interdependence with God, not dependence. She wanted a piece of it she could own for herself. She wanted to be at his level, not eating from His hand.

Knowledge was always meant to be a way to process the beauty and greatness of God, little by little, as he let us. It was never something that could be fully attained or owned. Adam and Eve knew more than any of us, but no one will ever know it all. The trap of greed to own it and think you can gain more causes pride and separation from God.

Because all wisdom comes from God, it is an attribute of His nature. It belongs to Him, and is intrinsically His. Love of wisdom should be seen as adoration of Him, a type of worship, like with King Solomon. But it must always be kept in a place of worship and reverence.

The wisdom of this world is a dangerous counterfeit because it feels real and abides within the limitations of what we can understand. It puffs our pride up and makes us content with parameters that we feel like we can control because we can understand.

It’s a love for safety.. It’s being content with ruling over an ant hill because it’s manageable. The wisdom of God, contrarily, will always put you in an entirely dependent, vulnerable state with God. You will always be so much smaller in comparison to the greatness of His creation and His majesty.

The wisdom that comes from God will always be like an observer admiring a painting; you will always be a spectator. There's no element where you are in control.

Knowledge, information, reasoning, data-- these are not worthy foes to challenge God's magnificence and authority. They have become idols, but they are still just crumbs from His table. Let us change the way we look at human progress. The desire to know more is a beautiful thing when it is a desire to know more of Him, and what He has created.

We must be content with knowing God— not knowing it all.

It's a pilgrimage, not a destination.

When we try to carry the burden of the world or figure out the mysteries of life and creation, we try to do something we weren’t built for. We weren't given that capacity. But through intimacy with God, He shares Himself, and we glimpse the treasures of knowledge, and that’s how we discover the things that we know.

I have found God to be much obliged in sharing more of Himself with those who are enamored and hopelessly in love with Him, and want another piece of the painting— But let us never forget, the full picture is an image of Him.