“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.” (Psalm 147:5 NKJV)

My uncle Don once told me an amusing story.  He was one of five children. He had four brothers and a baby sister.  While his father loved all his children, he only heeded advice from his eldest son Anthony.  The other sons could offer opinions but when Anthony spoke my grandfather listened.  Confronting him one day, Don asked his father, “Why do you only pay attention to what Anthony says? You never take our advice.” His dad looked at him earnestly and lovingly and said, “Don, I realized years ago that Anthony is smarter than me.” This revelation didn’t please my uncle because, by implication, his father was also saying that Don and the rest of the boys weren’t as smart as Anthony or their father.  Nevertheless, the point of this story is that my grandfather, a man of strong views, was willing to heed council as long as the source of that wisdom was greater than himself. 

The verse above is one of many that declare God’s infinite understanding. Combine this with His unimpeachable character, omnipotence and infinite love and you have the ultimate source of wisdom. Through the Bible, God instructs us about money, marriage and the meaning of life.  He teaches us about the vanity of life apart from Him. He reminds us that one day we will die and warns us of the judgment to come.  He gives us the ability to overcome fear, loneliness, anger, bitterness and hate. He charts for us a victorious path through life. Yet too often we ignore His precepts.  Why?  Haven’t we realized yet that God is smarter than us?

My grandfather was humble enough to know that he didn’t have all the answers.  He was willing to be swayed by greater wisdom. In doing so, he became wiser. How about you?

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25 NKJV)

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:10 NKJV)