Amazon has clearly disrupted the retail space. They have changed the way we think about shipping, about purchasing products online, and a host of others changes. Jeff Bezos understands marketing, advertising, shipping, and online retail. He put together a great team of people to revolutionize the way we think about shopping. Jeff Bezos has wisdom. But Jeff Bezos, as far as we can tell, would not claim to have a relationship with Christ. And we would teach that Jesus is the fountainhead of all wisdom.
So how should we think about wisdom? If it’s beginning is the “fear of the LORD” (Proverbs 9:1) then how can unbelievers exhibit such wisdom?
I think John Piper’s definition of wisdom might be helpful here:
“The greatest human wisdom is the factual knowledge and the situational insight and the necessary resolve that together have the greatest likelihood of success in achieving the intended, righteous goal.
We could quibble here with whether Bezos is achieving a “righteous goal,” but let’s focus on the aspects of factual knowledge, situational insight, and necessary resolve. Factual knowledge simply means that you know your stuff. If you’re Amazon, wisdom requires that you understand products, marketing, shipping, etc.
But that isn’t enough to actually be called wisdom, situational insight is also necessary. The folks at Amazon need to know when to disrupt the market, when to raise the price on Amazon Prime, how to promote these changes successfully, among other things. You need to know how to apply the knowledge you have to certain situations.
There is one other component to wisdom which must be considered. It’s one thing to know the right stuff and even how to apply it, it’s quite another to act upon that wisdom. This is, in part, what Jesus meant when he said that “wisdom is proved right by her actions” (Mt. 11:19). Wisdom is actually shown by its fruit—by it’s acted result.
Lastly, biblical wisdom is going to add a God-ward and righteous component to its definition. One could have right facts, correct insight, and resolve to act, but do so to accomplish an ungodly end. A wicked ruler could have the right facts about invading a vulnerable territory, he could know when is the best time to accomplish this, and have the will to act upon it—but if it does not have a “righteous goal” then it is not to be considered godly wisdom. And the Bible is concerned with leading us into godly wisdom.
Photo credit: Unsplash/Prateek Katyal