How to Get Wisdom According to the Bible – James 1:5-11

We have more information today than any generation in history. In ancient times, you had to cross oceans or climb mountains to find an expert teacher. But today, you have all the world’s knowledge in your pocket. So why are people still so foolish?

We have more information today than any generation in history… and less wisdom.

You know, there is a difference between wisdom and knowledge: Knowledge is knowing the right answer. Wisdom is knowing how to apply it.

Knowledge is data. Wisdom is direction. 

For example, knowledge is knowing the right answer to say. Wisdom is knowing when not to say it. 

I get in trouble with this one with my wife all the time. She tells me a problem she has, and I immediately gift her with my golden knowledge of the perfect solution to her problem. Anyone who has been married long enough knows that isn’t going to go well.

Why?

She wasn’t looking for an answer. She knows the answer. She’s not dumb and is, in fact, smarter than me in many ways. She was looking for a listening ear, empathy in her struggle, and validation of her feelings. And I’m just like, “I know the answer! Problem solved. You’re welcome. What else can I help you with?”

You may have all the knowledge in the world, but how do you gain wisdom to know how to apply it? AI can tell you how to make a million dollars, but it can’t tell you if the process will corrupt your soul. That’s the gap between knowledge and wisdom. 

The good news is that, just as no one is born with knowledge, wisdom is not a genetic trait either. Both must be learned. 

The world will tell you it’s gained over years of life experience and failures, and there’s some truth to that. But how does that help you now? And how do you know that one person’s wisdom is truly wise? There’s a lot of worldly wisdom that sounds great until you try it.

Well, the Bible says there is a better way. If you want to gain wisdom, here is how to do it according to the Bible.

How to Ask God for Wisdom

Look at James 1:5-8 (ESV). 

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

James says, “You want wisdom? Ask for it.” But who you ask and how you do it makes all the difference in the world. 

First, he says, “ask God.” Why?

As the creator and sustainer of all things, God is the source of all knowledge and wisdom. So if you want wisdom, why go to some online “influencer” who may or may not have it? Go to the one who has it all.

Proverbs, the wisdom book of the Bible, says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10; Psalm 111:10). If you want to get wisdom, start with God. Know who he is. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and that should humble you before him with a healthy, reverent fear in awe of his greatness. It’s not terror of God, but awestruck wonder at how great he is. That is the start of all wisdom right there. 

And once you know God, you realize what James says that you can humbly approach him and ask for wisdom because he is a good and loving God who “gives generously to all without reproach”. This is a promise here. Ask God for wisdom, and he will give it to you, with one condition. 

The condition, James says, is that you need to ask God the right way: “ask in faith, with no doubting.” Why does that matter? 

James gives this beautiful analogy of the sea: “the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

Doubt is like being adrift at sea without a sail or rudder. You are at the mercy of the wind and the waves. It could take you where to go, but more often you’ll be dashed upon the rocks or lost at sea. You have no direction or stability. 

If you doubt God, you’re going to struggle to ask him for wisdom in the first place. And when God gives you wisdom, you’re going to have trouble receiving it. 

For example, how James says just before this passage to count trials as joy. If you doubt God, you are going to doubt his wisdom. It will sound like foolishness to you.

So you will be tossed back and forth between godly and worldly wisdom, lacking direction or consistency. 

James says this kind of person is “double-minded.” A pastor friend of mine often says that the most miserable people on the planet are those with one foot in the kingdom of God and one foot in the world. You are inconsistent between what you believe and what you do, as if you have two minds battling inside you. One says follow God’s ways, and the other says follow the world’s ways. And in this situation, the world wins out. 

If you’re double-minded, you’re basically asking God for his ‘opinion’ so you can compare it to yours. But God isn’t a consultant; He’s a commander. We don’t ask for his advice; we ask his direction.

So you have to believe. Have single-minded faith in God. Trust that his wisdom is good and true.

Godly Wisdom Inverts Worldly Thinking

After telling us how to get wisdom, James applies godly wisdom to a common problem. A double-minded person torn between godly and worldly wisdom will be tossed by the problems of life, especially when it comes to money.

⁹ Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, ¹⁰ and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits (James 1:9-11 ).

Those lacking money and those with plenty of it will be torn to follow worldly wisdom to chase after it, and believe that their value is defined by it. 

James inverts worldly thinking to show how godly wisdom works. Opposite of what most people think, with God, the poor can boast in their exaltation and the rich in their humility. How does that work? 

Godly wisdom sees things from God’s eternal perspective.

Those who know the Lord, and are poor, know that they are truly rich. This life is temporary, and the riches of God’s grace are enough to satisfy. What good would it be to gain the whole world and forfeit their soul? Plus, they know the rich rewards that await them in heaven.

The rich who know the Lord are reminded that this life is temporary and they are humbled by how great God is and how small they are in comparison. They know they cannot serve two masters, both God and money. So they use their riches to glorify God and help others rather than to prop themselves up or flaunt their wealth over others who are less fortunate. The rich who have godly wisdom know that judgment is coming.

Death is the great equalizer. Their bank accounts are like a desert flower that is here for a moment and then withers in the heat of the sun. Their life will end in the midst of their pursuit of wealth, and then what was the purpose of it all? Wisdom is investing in the things that don’t whither.

The rich believer wants God to be pleased with how they managed the wealth he gave them, both physically in how they use it and mentally in how much they allowed it to master them or not.

This is just one example of how Godly wisdom changes every area of your life.

When you seek God for wisdom, you will learn things like: strength comes through weakness, you lead by serving, you gain your life by losing it, the way to defeat your enemies is by loving them, and more.

So how do you gain wisdom? Go to God, the source of all wisdom, and ask for his help.

Don’t be double-minded with one foot in the world and one in God’s kingdom. Go all in in your fear and awe of the Lord and all of his ways. Trust that it is good and true, even when it doesn’t make sense from a worldly perspective, because God, from his eternal perspective, knows far more than you and I do.