Do you know which is the most important? Granted you need both and knowledge typically occurs first, but which should be the goal – and why?
Even as a child I always wanted wisdom – first. Perhaps I was partially influenced by the scripture story of Solomon who asked for wisdom, but I think it might have been a tad more than that. I’m not attempting to inflate my intelligence but even then I recognized that wisdom was the ability to effectively use knowledge.
James (3:17) does an excellent job of defining the characteristics of wisdom: pure, peaceable, gentle, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. However, there is also the inclusion of: willing to yield – which, for me, is extremely difficult. Besides, what does ‘willing to yield’ actually mean? Like patience, yielding has never been a natural quality.
I think my definition of ‘yield’ meant to give up, relinquish, not stand up for what is ‘right and true’ – basically it was defeat. I rarely saw any positive attributes of yielding. I suspect I still have problems with this. But… I think I’ve also arrived at a definition that allows me to accept this quality. To yield means to step back for a moment and reassess what is happening. Are you using knowledge as the basis for expressing your wisdom – or are you using emotion?
The other person(s) may not be rejecting whatever is being said but they could be not understanding. Understanding is an incredibly important aspect of wisdom – without it there really isn’t wisdom, there’s only a momentary acceptance without any substance. There is also the aspect that, for the other person, they may be operating on their perception of wisdom.
If your goal is for the other person to understand and accept then you have to be certain of your message. Are you stating your position, your wisdom so the other person can follow your thinking? Are you using words with the same definitions? Are you seeking to influence or to overwhelm? Your ‘why’ dictates your how of communication. What is your goal….
