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James 1:5
5 [de] If any [ei tis] of you [humon] lack [leipo] wisdom [sophia], let him ask [aiteo] of [para] God [theos], that giveth [didomi] to all [pas] men liberally [haplos], and [kai] upbraideth [oneidizo] not [me]; and [kai] it shall be given [didomi] him [autos]. KJV-Interlinear
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. NASB
If anyone lacks wisdom, well we all lack wisdom. We are born without it, and we grow up with academic knowledge only.
Wisdom is the culmination of the accumulation of the details of things in life, of information, of experience, of logic, of common sense and so forth, but wisdom goes beyond all of this, combining the truth that only comes from Bible doctrine. This produces discernment in life, and thus allows a person to make correct decisions in life regarding life.
One cannot grow up on worldly information and experience alone. That lacks the insight, which comes only from Bible doctrine. And this insight allows you to see the facts of life correctly, and correlate them with reality.
Example, we are born, we live and then we die. Without doctrine, we would never know of heaven or even of the Lake of Fire. All that we would have, would be our own wishes or desires, inventions and imagination, with which we could invent our own destiny in the next life. That is what religion is all about. The invention of ones own desired 'next life' destiny.
Some wish to be absorbed into nature. Others would want to be absorbed into the universe. Others long for virgins, while still others have their own ideas as to what the next life is all about. So, academic wisdom is limited.
And when ones perspective on life is limited, then beliefs generally follow whatever the masses consent to.
Is our bad luck caused by witches? Then find them, accuse someone, burn them, and our luck will change. Toss someone into a volcano to get god luck.
Is there global warming. If everyone says so then it is.
Facts are unimportant. The seriousness of the principle is all that matters. And so goes the wisdom of man, and so goes the falseness of mans views on life.
True wisdom is not the result of mere thought, reason, or speculation. No Aristotelian, or Baconian, or Stoic etc. method can produce it, or even discover it.
True wisdom comes from God and from God alone. Man cannot discover true wisdom on his own. And the method of gaining wisdom, or the ability to see life as it truly is, is by asking God (the Father) in prayer, and then following His prescribed mechanism for learning and gaining wisdom (ie. confession, study, learning, applying). God does not place any limits on how much you can learn, nor how much you can grow toward spiritual maturity.
