My 10 year old son, Ryan and I went on a trail with our bikes this morning. Before going through the steep mounds and narrow trails, I gave him a few instructions. I told him that if he wants to fix something like adjusting his helmet or taking out dirt on his pedal, he will need to stop to do that first before continuing conquering the trail.
I also told him that if he is going through a mound he calculates might be too difficult for him to handle now, there’s no shame not going through it this time around. We can conquer it another time.
Being scared is different from being wise.
Since he was a child, we’ve trained him to be fearless.
And that is just what he is today.
To date, he has 30 stitches all over his body.
However, I’m coming to a point in training him to teach him that wisdom doesn’t equal fear. Having the wisdom to restrain is not equal to a lack of courage. Studying the trail is better than breaking your arm. We don’t have to conquer that part of the trail now. But as we gain experience, we will also gain wisdom.
This doesn’t just apply to my 10 year old son. This applies to all of us.
People feel smarter these days because of Google.
They can type a topic and they can gain knowledge from the sites and blogs almost instantaneously.
However, being smart is different from being wise.
Wisdom is gained from experience.
You may know a lot but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have wisdom.
This is why we have coaches, mentors, small group leaders and people in our lives who we can look to for insight, advice and wisdom. Do not miss that opportunity.
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. (Proverbs 12:15)
Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22)
Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. (Proverbs 11:14)
Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. (Proverbs 19:20)
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. (Proverbs 12:1)
Take advantage of the time you have with wise mentors, coaches and parents.
If you have none, maybe it’s time you seek one out.
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