This note could fill several chapters. It may be the most important note so far. Acquiring and using wisdom has served me well over the years and I am blessed to have many people who displayed wisdom and helped me find and follow the path of wisdom. I will be sharing about several people who influenced me, but before I do, I will want to share some about Wisdom in general.
Knowledge and Wisdom are closely related, but also different. In life you may meet people who have a lot of knowledge, but they lack wisdom. Conversely, people with wisdom may not always have the most acquired knowledge. As you grow, my prayer for you is to acquire both, but above all grow in wisdom. Knowledge will not make you wise, but wisdom will almost always help you with whatever knowledge you have.
Here’s a simple example. A person may be knowledgeable about the speed limit, but a wise person follows it. A person may know they shouldn’t jump off the roof and try to defy gravity; a wise person makes the decision to refrain. It is good to find a balance between them.
Fortunately, both of my parents taught and modeled Wisdom for me. In my last note I covered a lot of how they helped me, so I will share about some others.
The pastor in charge of the youth for most of my middle and high school days was Jack Taylor. Jack had the kind of wisdom which valued people and saw and developed the potential in those around him, especially those under his care. After he left my church, he served the church where Sassy and her family were members. He had a great impact on her life as well, was instrumental in us meeting and would perform our wedding ceremony. In the early years of ministry, I served on the staff of Lakewood UMC with him as the Lead Pastor. Jack is what I might call the Pied Piper Leader. He made everything look fun, even if it wasn’t. People wanted to be on his team. He trusted you with responsibility and if you failed he still had your back. I have said about Jack “he gave you enough rope to hang yourself, but he was there to rescue you. If you made a swing out of the rope, he was there on the ground applauding your efforts.” People with wisdom like Jack are important influences in your life and I pray there will be many in your life.
During my first years at Florida Southern College, the chaplain was Tom Price. Tom was an amazing human being! He was the lead communicator for the Sunday Chapel Service and also taught Old and New Testament which were required in those days. Students often felt forced to take these Bible courses, but Tom made it worth it. He had the ability to unravel the historical complexities of Biblical Stories and provide a clear interpretation and application for these stories. Above all else, he was kind! His wife Nancy and his family were very instrumental in my hearing and accepting a call into the ministry. After teaching for a year and a half, I had benefited from the experience, but had never really considered teaching as a life time career. While I grew more restless about my future, Tom called and asked if would join him in ministry at a UM Church in Haines City, Florida. During college I had worked a couple of summers as a youth director at my home church in Orlando and had worked part time one semester at a church in Lakeland. It had been several years since I had been connected with the church and my faith in Jesus was a very low priority. There was, however, something which resonated in my heart this would be a good thing. Tom, Nancy and the whole church embraced me and during the year I rediscovered my personal faith in Jesus as Savior and began to give Him the Lordship of my life. After about 9 months I felt a call to the ministry. When I shared it with Tom, he said he always saw the potential I had to be a minister and part of the reason he had asked me to join him was to help me embrace my God given potential and align again with God’s direction. Tom had great wisdom and many of the people associated with Tom were influenced by his discernment and ability to help people become who God intended them to be. I would like to think I acquired some of his wisdom.
While in seminary, Sassy and I became friends with Alison and Mark Rutland. Mark was a UM pastor about 6 years older than me. He was launching out into a new ministry beyond the local church. God had given Mark a pretty full dose of the Holy Spirit and he had an amazing way of explaining the power of God which comes through the resurrected Jesus Christ. I could relate to Mark. We were both products of the church, but it often lacked in the power of the Holy Spirit. The other extreme of churches expressing the power of the Holy Spirit often seemed a bit strange and sometimes there were abuses. Mark, however, seemed to be right in the middle and was able to hold those two extremes together. It was what I needed. Mark invited us to join him in his Evangelistic Ministry. As I started Seminary I began to wonder what role my musical gifts would play. It seemed maybe it was time to leave it in my past. It seemed logical to close those chapters and move on and to adapt to the normal role of minister. God had a plan for us that would include our musical gifts and Mark was the primary influence in encouraging and facilitating those gifts. Mark was one of those fearless types of people who I always admired but never quite saw myself in that way. To put it simply, Mark filled my courage tank with faith! He had the type of Wisdom able to see beyond the present moment. He helped everyone feel less fearful and more courageous. To be honest Mark would have been successful in any field, but it was the empowerment of the Holy Spirit which set him apart from people who aspire to success only. I am writing this on December 24, 2022. Yesterday I got a text from Mark. Just telling us we are on his heart. It was a pretty great gift.
Your great grandfather Glen Keys (Harper, you have his middle name) is the epitome of Wise. He never finished High School or attended college. I don’t think he ever had a lot of regrets, but I am sure he would encourage you to get as much education as possible. He was a true entrepreneur! He had the kind of wisdom you don’t get in college. In the years I knew him, I consulted him on almost every minor and major decision of my life. Papa had an abundance of common sense wisdom. Though he didn’t pursue classroom education he taught himself to do a lot of things. If it has wheels on it he knew how to drive it. He loved being on the water and he was pretty good at navigating. He had his pilot’s license. Probably his greatest gift of wisdom was he could spot a phony. He didn’t have a lot of time for you if you weren’t genuine. Sassy and I benefited from his wise counsel. I do want to also credit your great grandmother Marty (Mema). They were a great team. If you were to talk to her, I am pretty sure she will tell the source of her wisdom. Read on!
This leads me to the greatest source of wisdom, the Bible in general and the Book of Proverbs specifically. By the time you are reading this, your next read should be the book of Proverbs. As I child I heard many of these Proverbs and they probably were imbedded in heart. As an adult, they became one of my greatest sources of Wisdom and I have read them many times. Wisdom is addressed many times. Here are a few of my favorites!
Proverbs 1 NASB To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice, and integrity; To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, A wise person will hear and increase in learning, And a person of understanding will acquire wise counsel, To understand a proverb and a saying, The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 3:5,6 NASB Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 16:32 NASBOne who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And one who rules his spirit, than one who captures a city.
Proverbs 17:27-28 NASB 27 One who withholds his words has knowledge,
And one who has a cool spirit is a person of understanding.
28 Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;
When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.
Proverbs 22:6-8 NASB 6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he grows older he will not abandon it.
7 The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
8 One who sows injustice will reap disaster, And the rod of his fury will perish.
Proverbs 23:4 NASB 4 Do not weary yourself to gain wealth;
Stop dwelling on it.
Proverbs 24:33-34 NASB 33 “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,”
34 Then your poverty will come like a drifter, And your need like an armed man.
Proverbs 27:6 NASB 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
Proverbs 27:17 NASB 17 As iron sharpens iron, So one person sharpens another.
Proverbs 28:6 NASB 6 Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity,
Than a person who is crooked, though he is rich.
Proverbs 31:8-9 NASB 8 Open your mouth for the people who cannot speak,
For the rights of all the unfortunate. 9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And defend the rights of the poor and needy.
These are just a few of those. There are 31 Proverbs. Find a month with 31 days and read one a day.