Do we have to leave wisdom aside to fully follow Jesus?

“Wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.” Proverbs 8:11. Wisdom in Proverbs is the thing to be gained above everything else. And that makes sense in everyday life. People who are wise- with work, with money, with words, with family relationships, with home, with friends- generally have better lives. To have other good things, but lack wisdom, is likely to lead to losing those good things. Wisdom, understanding cause and effect, and then acting well to achieve good goals, is incredibly valuable.

And yet it has limits. Much wisdom is sowing and reaping- and you don’t always reap. Wise money principles may still lead to bankruptcy, while foolish investments can pay off (E.g. John Hale and his brother-in-law in North and South). Good relationship wisdom may not avoid relationship breakdown (e.g. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18). Good parenting does not guarantee happy or successful children.

But I’ve been wondering what we do with the call of Jesus in relation to wisdom. Jesus calls us to do things that seem very unwise. He calls the rich young ruler to give all his wealth to the poor. He calls people to love him more than parents and children. He tells us to turn the other cheek and love our enemies. He tells us to take up our cross and follow him. Jesus seems to call us to give up wisdom with career, money, family, relationships, in order to follow his kingdom way.

So here is the problem. Wisdom is precious, both biblically and in terms of life experience. It has limits because things beyond our control can mean wise paths still lead to bad outcomes. But more importantly, following Jesus seems to mean pursuing unwise paths and outcomes by this world’s standard. Do we have to leave wisdom aside to fully follow Jesus?

Well no. After all Jesus himself is the wisest man. “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God.” 1 Corinthians 1:30. My mistake was thinking that wisdom was about how to make life work well in this world. But wisdom is about how to live well in God’s world in the light of eternity! Wisdom has as its great foundation and focus God himself. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10. So true wisdom means following Jesus, fearing him as Lord, knowing him as the Holy One from God.

Sometimes, this true wisdom will help us to live well in this world. It is God’s world, and humans are made by God, and he knows how we generally function best. Sometimes this true wisdom will call us to pursue God’s way despite seemingly “missing out” in this life. That is because this fallen world can draw us away from God, and tangle us in destructive sin.

But we are never called to leave true wisdom aside to fully follow Jesus. He is the truly wise one, and in the light of God and eternity, his way will always be the truly good and wise path.