Without Compromise, pt. 4: Becoming a Wiseguy

When I started a personal Bible study on the book of Ezra several years ago, I wasn’t expecting that I would turn my own study notes into a book about leadership, but that’s what happened (Leadership Ezra, available on Amazon).  When that was done, I started a study of Daniel, and never made it past the first chapter before organizing my personal notes into a series of valuable lessons to share with students.  As time has gone on, God seems to be prompting me to do more with it, so I have begun the process of turning my notes into short articles, that will then become the basis for chapters in a book (current working title: “Without Compromise: Leading with integrity in the face of pressure”). 

The story’s underlying basis is this:  In the time and world of Daniel, Israel and the capital city of Jerusalem were invaded and captured.  In that process, the most gifted and talented young men were given a “scholarship” [albeit, against their will] to attend the most elite private school in the known world, one designed to prepare leaders & experts (Daniel 1:3).  Upon graduation, Daniel and his friends were at the top of the class and were hired into executive leadership positions right out of school (Daniel 1:17-20).  But here’s an incredibly significant observation: In between . . . they refused to compromise their faith, values, and integrity.  

How did they do it?  One way was by developing (and using) knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.

In Daniel 1, one of the ways we see that Daniel and his friends were gifted was in their mental acuity.  Verse 4 tells us that they were “gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand.”  Then verse 17 says the same thing, but with the added description that these were gifts from God and that Daniel had a special, God-given level of understanding that would be for a purpose.  Based on the context, it is important to remember that Daniel and his friends knew that these gifts were from God, and they also put in the personal effort to develop these gifts.  Therefore, because they had these tools, they were equipped to make good decisions.

When it comes to our own equipping, you need to realize that it’s not enough to just to “know”, whether it’s broadly (knowing a little about a lot, like a jeopardy champion) or deeply (knowing a lot about a little, like an expert in a specific area).  You also need to know why it matters and how to use it to make good decisions.  I vividly remember hearing my dad described this way at the graveside service of his funeral in a message spoken by a pastor that my dad had mentored, and that description stuck with me.  This is how I would describe these three levels of mental effort and ability:

• Knowledge:  having a grasp of information, with the knowledge and awareness of information that is relevant to your context, career, community, and culture.
• Understanding:  having the ability to make sense of knowledge, to connect the dots, to grasp what it means and why it matters, and to recognize truth.
• Wisdom:  having the ability to apply knowledge and understanding to good decision-making, with meaningful, practical, and effective application to life.

These three tools help equip you for decision-making.  But here’s the really good news – these tools are attainable!  You can develop knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, but it doesn’t happen by accident.  It happens with intentional effort and certain characteristics that you choose to employ.  Those characteristics include seeking wisdom from the right people and places (just for fun, do a comparison of I Kings 12:1-19 and 1 Kings 3:9, and make note of who each person listened to), being humble and teachable, and asking God (see James 1 as a reminder of how important this is) but then making sure to listen.

The lesson we learn from Daniel in this is the Lesson of Wisdom: the importance of intentionally pursuing knowledge (grasp of accurate information), understanding (knowing what truth is and why it matters), and wisdom (knowing how to apply it to godliness and life decisions).  Make the choice to develop knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.