This is a sign that we have up in the classroom:


What do you think it means?

That classroom sign above meant that some people can get amazing results in their subjects (including RS exams) but in day to day life they aren't that great.

This is where we get an idea of what wisdom is.

What ideas do you have when someone says the word 'wisdom'?
Try to think of at least three.



Some of the students said 'a chinese man with a beard'. Does that mean that the man on the right is less wise?

Okay enough waffling. Let's sort this one out with a really simple definition:

Wisdom is the best thing in the best way.

I know it is vague, but if you bear with it you will get some goodness.

There are lots of things we could be doing with our lives, and as life gets ever more complicated the list seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

We have to be able to sort this one out, but how will we find out? Where will we go? Who will tell us? It is all confusing isn't it?

Wisdom is first of all to do with understanding (out of all the choices and ideas before us each day) which thing is the BEST to go for.

It is true that there are lots of GOOD or even GREAT things (plus a few STINKY ones) to go for, but wisdom is where you can select the BEST.

Hard isn't it?


And the funny thing is that even the most intelligent/clever people can regularly make very STINKY choices in their lives and sometimes not spot it.



But Wisdom is more than knowing the BEST thing is.

And here is where we really send you to sleep.

Even when you work out what the BEST thing is you still might struggle to do that thing in the BEST way.

Occasionally we see people in international sport competitions doing the most amazing things and we rightly applaud them. Often it isn't so much their ability that we are wowed by but their WISDOM. When a brilliant sports person wins well they have usually worked out how to do the BEST thing (win) in the BEST way (a combination of skills, tactics, team work etc).

We see it in the greatest sports people, but it can also be used in daily life.

Wisdom is a quality that we need in daily life to get through the many minefields that surround us and threaten to reduce us to blubbering wrecks.

With wisdom we can navigate life in a way that will hopefully bring greater happiness and less bitter regret, but without it we are in for some tricky times.


But where can you get it?

This is the part that will probably both encourage and annoy you...

Wisdom can be found by opening your eyes.
By simply looking at life carefully and seeing the events around us unfold we can see where people get it right and wrong.

This means that if we are rushing-about-people then we might miss a few goodies.

Wisdom can be found by listening to people who have already done the looking.
This might include teachers, definitely parents, probably older brothers and sisters and sometimes our friends and peers.

Why not spend more time 'mining' your mates?

Wisdom isn't always immediate and can take a lifetime to get a grasp of.
This is because some things don't happen that quickly. This is why older people should be respected more because they have seen more things and can therefore give us a few tips on not messing up.

Patience and open-minded seeking can safe your life.

I said that this bit would be encouraging and annoying didn't I?

Encouraging - because you don't need to be someone special to have special insights.
Annoying - because you can't pop down the shops for wisdom or download it on a broadband connection. It could take ages (or depend on someone who has spent ages looking for it).

Want some more tips on finding it?

King Solomon in the Old Testament was known to be the wisest man about at the time* and recorded a lot of his observations in a densely packed book called Proverbs.

Before you take a look at it, here are a few quick comments. Email me if you want to chat further on this.

1. Proverbs starts off with a discussion between a Father and a Son. Some of it might go over your head, some of it might shock you.

2. From chapter 10 onwards there are literally tons of observations that Solomon made about life - some of it you might not really get, but some of it is pure gold (even so many centuries later).

3. Solomon's observations about being wise in everyday life are mostly nothing to do with religion but...

4. ...he makes a massive claim in the early chapters that true wisdom starts with respecting the Almighty God who put us together. On this point you might agree or strongly reject Solomon. Either way, hang around for the party - it always gets more interesting when they cut the cake**.

And so, here it is ladies and gentlemen: Proverbs.

The online version (remember that chapter 10 is found starting here)

A downloadable pdf file:



*even though he blew it by taking the lid off of the sauce bottle too often (he had a thing for the ladies - and by ladies I mean ladies in the extreme plural)
**what am I talking about?