A couple of weeks ago, my pastor asked me to deliver the children’s sermon at my church. After teaching at the university level for over a year, it was a difficult shift in gears to preach to kids! I couldn’t use words like “hamartiology,” “supralapsarianism,” or “hapaxlegomena,” as much as I wanted to. (Then again, I don’t know if I could use them with my college students!)
This is a summary of what I said:
Hey kids, today we’re going to be talking about wisdom. Do you know what’s the difference between being wise and being smart? A lot of people think these are the same thing—but they’re not!
Being smart is all brains. It’s like getting good grades in school, being good at math, and knowing what the capital of Mongolia is! For example, you’re smart if you know what one trillion times one trillion is—the answer is one gazillion! (um, that’s a technical term). Oh, and the capital of Mongolia is Ulaan Baatar (but I don’t even know if adults knew that one).
Being wise is different. Wisdom does not have to do with your head, it’s more your heart and your hands. Smart is knowing the right things, wise is doing the right things. The Bible says in Luke 7, “But wisdom is proved right by all her children.” In other words, you are proved wise by the results!
There are a lot of people out there who are smart but not wise. If your parents tell you to not touch a stove because it’s hot—well, being able to tell me that the temperature is 400 degrees would make you smart, but if you touch it anyway and get burned, that is certainly not wise! If you can tell me the name of every single G.I. Joe or Star Wars figure, but you don’t share your toys with your siblings or your friends, you are smart but not wise. If you know when the War of 1812 was fought, that makes you smart, but if you are mean to other people, that is not wise!
The Bible says in Proverbs 3, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” What does “fear” mean? Does this mean we have to be afraid of God? Well, that might be true to a certain extent, but mostly the word “fear” means to respect. If you respect God, if you respect your parents, if you respect your friends and neighbors, if you think about others before yourself, you will act wisely.
How can you be wise? Pray. Read your Bible. Honor your father and mother. And follow Jesus. That is the beginning of wisdom.
