Author: Jay Forrest

“The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom” (Prov. 4:7).

In order to get wisdom, you need to first know what wisdom is. Unfortunately, this is harder than you might think. There is no agreement on what wisdom is.

Wisdom is not knowledge. Knowledge is the acquisition of facts and information. Wisdom is not experience.

Wisdom is not the right use of knowledge, that’s prudence. Rather, wisdom is the proper perspective of reality. Experience is the practical application of knowledge in real-world situations. Wisdom is not understanding. Understanding is the ability to comprehend and interpret information. And wisdom is not prudence. Prudence is the right use of knowledge.

Wisdom is the proper perspective of Reality. It is the result of the skillful integration of knowledge, experience, and understanding. A proper perspective is God’s perspective. The closer we get to his perspective, the wiser we are.

Worldly wisdom is a distorted perspective of Reality. It is distorted by selfishness, personal bias, misinformation, and the misinterpretation of one’s experiences. Prejudice means to prejudge, and to prejudge is to misjudge.

I can give you answers, but I cannot give you wisdom. Wisdom is a result of a long process of integrating true knowledge with real experience to form a proper perspective of reality. That perspective is God’s perspective.

I’m going to give you answers to problems that you have not adequately struggled with. But I’m going to give them to you nonetheless. Hopefully you can appreciate them, if not now, maybe later. I think it is a true saying, “It takes more wisdom to receive advice than it does to give it.”

“Conversion is conversion from a self-centered person to a God-centered person.” – E. Stanley Jones

Conversion is not optional. Jesus was clear, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3 NKJV). The Apostle Peter said the same thing, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19 NKJV).

Conversion means to turn around. We can illustrate it by imagining a person heading in one direction and then turning around and heading in a completely different direction. That is conversion. Repentance is changing your mind, conversion is changing your direction in life.

And this is what E. Stanley Jones is pointing to. Before conversion, everyone is self-centered. They are living their life on their own terms, they are doing what they want when they want. They are lord of their lives.

Conversion is turning from selfishness and surrendering to God. Now you are living your life on God’s terms, doing what God wants when God wants it done. You become a God-centered person. God is now the Lord of your life. That is what conversion is.

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

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From the Book of Common Prayer According to the use of The Episcopal Church, “The Holy Eucharist: Rite Two.”