Wise Unwise Wisecracks

Knowledge and wisdom are two entirely separate entities. You may have understood the principles and reasoning behind facts, but until you actually apply them in your life, they gather dust. All of us have made unwise decisions in our lives, mostly because we’ve not applied the knowledge that we know is right. Hopefully mistakes will cause wisdom. Reevaluating the choices we have made can teach us of where we went wrong. I’ve seen the question posed, “What would you tell a younger you to change your past?” I’m not sure that I would listen. I would have to see the consequences of those choices before I would change them. I would have the facts, but would I have the wisdom to see the need for those changes.

If I would have had the foresight I would have studied harder, ate less, and exercised more. Would I have done those things? Probably not; they involved doing things that took up too much of my leisure time. They would have interfered with the “more pleasurable” times in my life. I wasn’t the most athletic kid in school. Sports were fun or I didn’t like to compete. The one activity in gym that I detested was rope climbing. I was chubby and didn’t have the arm strength. I wasn’t Tarzan, so when would I need to perfect that skill? The skill I honed was a quick retort or wisecrack. It made people laugh and most times it caused a threat to back down.

Now that I’m older I recognize everything I needed to know, need to know right now and all I will need to know is found in one book. Wisdom fills the pages of the Bible. God has given us the facts. He has written the guidebook and the plans for a successful, joy filled life. There is no need to “Google” and answer. It’s found in God’s Word. If that young me would have listened, that is what I would have told him. Read, understand, and apply the tenets of God’s holy Word.