Wouldn’t Be Prudent At This Juncture

In the 90′s, when George Bush Sr. was president, Dana Carvey played his comedic impersonator on Saturday Night Live. In addition to imitating his voice and facial expressions, he used words and phrases that were common to George H. W. Bush – especially the phrase “Wouldn’t be prudent.”

The word “prudent” has strong ties to the concept of wisdom. Being prudent means,

To be marked by wisdom or judiciousness. Wise in handling practical matters, exercising good judgement or common sense. Careful in regards to one’s own interests.

Being prudent and wise sounds good, but I wonder, is the commonly understood definition of wisdom (good sense, good judgement) in sync with the kind of wisdom God has?

Are we seeking after a wisdom from above or from below?

I often think about what a lawyer, risk management expert, counselor, accountant, or consultant would say to God as He explained his plan to unleash grace upon the earth—paying the price for our sins, cancelling our debt forever on the cross, and giving us a place in His family as sons and daughters.

Serious, what would they say?

“This is not a wise investment.”

“Wouldn’t be prudent at this juncture.”

“You need to think about yourself, what’s best for you.”

But that’s not God’s kind of wisdom. That’s wisdom from below, not wisdom from above.

So what does God’s kind of wisdom sound like?

Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor. —James 3.17-18 MSG

Wisdom from above is characterized by…

• Getting along with others
• It is gentle and reasonable
• Overflowing with mercy and blessings
• Not being hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced
• Treating each other with dignity and honor.

Let me zero in on one phrase in the description of how God’s wisdom is characterized:

OVERFLOWING WITH MERCY AND BLESSINGS.

I hope this is consistent with your understanding of God—that He is characterized by overflowing mercy and blessings.

We live in this overflow.

And here we have peace, joy, rest, confidence—we know that we are loved by Him.

This kind of wisdom, God’s wisdom, is not the same as the “wise investment, prudent at this juncture, what’s best for you” type of wisdom. Not at all.

James talks about the “wisdom” that isn’t God’s kind of wisdom…

Jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and evil of every kind. —James 3.15-16 NLT

When we live by the wisdom from below, we have disorder and evil of every kind. Yuk!

In stark contrast, wisdom from above is overflowing with mercy and blessings.

That means people around us are living in the overflow.

As we understand that the wisdom of God (wisdom from above) is very different from our default kind of wisdom (wisdom from below), we can make the conscious decision to move away from “wisdom from below” – and towards “wisdom from above.”

It’s not about what’s prudent at this juncture.

It’s about living in the overflow, and becoming part of that flow…

Overflowing with mercy and blessings.