Wisdom is Christ Saturated People Skills
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Prov. 1:7
Wisdom is Jesus saturated life and people skills. Wisdom is the practical application of Jesus in the midst of life’s difficult choices, complicated situations, and perplexing people. Wisdom makes right choices leading to right actions that assist people in doing the right thing. Wisdom is not more information, but insights from God about people, their motivations, and the choices they make.
Wisdom is Jesus gifted people skills: it is learning how to deal with people and the emotional baggage they carry. Wisdom understands what drives people and why they act the way they do. Wisdom is knowing what to say and even how to say it. Wisdom gives us insight into dealing with people’s problems: ours and theirs. Wisdom helps us and others make the right choices in the right way at the right time. Learning wisdom is developing Christ saturated people skills.
Wisdom is the skill of living. It is a practical knowledge that helps one know how to act and how to speak in different situations. Wisdom entails the ability to avoid problems, and the skill to handle them when they present themselves. Wisdom also includes the ability to interpret other people’s speech and writing in order to react correctly to what they are saying to us. Wisdom is not intelligence pure and simple. It does not necessarily exclude intelligence, but that is not the focus.
Tremper Longman, How to Read Proverbs (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 2002).