Wisdom is Not Just in the Knowing, But Also in the Doing
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“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” — Matthew 7:24 (NIV)
When I hear Matthew 7:24 quoted it is most often in reference to building your house on the rock (i.e. building your life and faith on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ). But when we back up a bit, we realize the “puts them into practice” part is a critical piece of instruction that comes first and is necessary for any house to stand. Notice the drastically different outcomes in the verses following verse 24 when one man puts into practice Jesus’ teaching and the other does not.
The foolish man’s error seems obvious in the context of the passage, but how often do we also fail to put it into practice as clear Biblical guidance? All too often for me, if I’m honest. It’s easy to separate the knowing from the doing instead of combining them and aligning our actions to God’s instructions. I’m not just talking about big, obvious stumbles here, but about the tiny little actions and thoughts that build daily habits. For example, how often do I find myself worrying instead of first taking my problem to the Lord in prayer? How often do I seek stress relief in food or online shopping instead of stopping to acknowledge the situation and first seeking the Lord for comfort and solutions? How often do I make a choice quickly based on instinct instead of seeking the Bible for guidance?
So how do we practice the doing? What works for me is to slow down and be very intentional in both my thoughts and decision-making throughout the day. I have to stop and ask the Lord to help me make wise decisions in the moment. I have to stop and ask the Lord to take a thought captive in the moment. This is hard when my plate is very full, but it’s when we’re busiest that we need to heed Matthew 7:24 the most, because it’s so easy to go on autopilot and just plow through everything we have going on. This then creates fertile ground for the enemy to come in and negatively influence our thoughts and decision-making. I can look back at decisions I’ve made in haste and clearly see where I went wrong, even though in the moment my rationale seemed fine!
Once I slow down and become intentional about asking the Lord to align my thoughts with His and help me make wise decisions, I find my perspective is clearer and I walk in greater peace. I’m also able to look back and reflect on the lessons I’ve learned through being intentional.
Putting wisdom into practice is such a key part of growing in our faith, friends. Those who have built their house on the rock know, without a doubt, that wisdom is not just in the knowing, but also in the doing. May we all be wise builders.
Questions for Reflection:
1. How do you define true wisdom?
2. What helps you put Jesus’ teachings into practice?
3. Where do you find that you have the most difficulty putting into practice the knowledge you have?
