Wisdom Verses Knowledge

Wisdom verses Knowledge

Did you know that there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom? Have you ever met someone who was like a walking encyclopedia. They had a wealth of information and knowledge stored in their brain, but did not have enough sense to get out of the rain. They lacked wisdom. As pastors and leaders we need all the knowledge we can get, but we need WISDOM to know how to apply that knowledge and be able to lead effectively.

Knowledge is defined as “the state or fact of knowing; learning; awareness; the sum of what has been learned or discovered.” Wisdom however, is defined as “the ability to make good use of the knowledge we have ; and the ability to recognize right from wrong.”

The following example may better illustrate the difference between wisdom and knowledge. “Knowledge is when you know that tomatoes are fruit. Wisdom is to know not to put tomatoes in a fruit salad.” 😆 

Knowledge is not a bad thing. In fact, I am very thankful for the knowledge that has come forward that makes life a little easier. I thank God for the knowledge that brought forth new methods and new instruments that enable us to preach the gospel more effectively and to reach more people than ever before. We need the knowledge gleaned from God’s Word about salvation, who we are in Christ, faith, love, etc.

But knowledge alone is not enough. For knowledge to be useful, we must be able to use that knowledge and appropriately apply it in life, that is wisdom.

For example, there is a difference between “knowing” that a man named Jesus died on a cross and then actually “believing” in what His death accomplished. For a Christian they exercised wisdom by taking that knowledge and appling it to their life to become a follower of Christ. However, for a non-Christian, even though they have the “knowledge” they have not applied that knowledge (used wisdom) to receive forgiveness and eternal life.

As leaders we need the knowledge of principles of leadership and how to lead and pastor people, but we need the wisdom of God to effectively apply that knowledge in our leadership. Wisdom includes knowledge. To be wise is to apply the knowledge you have. However, knowledge does not include wisdom. So, we need knowledge but we must gain wisdom.

As Proverbs 4:7 says “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”