Life is full of daily decisions. What time will I get up? What should I wear today? Will I go grocery shopping? If so, what will I buy? Should I make a doctor’s appointment for next week or the week after?

We also have major decisions that we make at the crossroads of life. Should I go to college? Which one? What job or career should I pursue? I’m dating someone; should we get married? Should we try to have kids? If so, how many?

How important it is to be able to evaluate the options before us in the light of their potential consequences! What a benefit it would be to know how to make good decisions in the moment.

The Bible calls this ability wisdom.

Wisdom is not the same as intelligence. Intelligence can be measured by one’s IQ and refers to our ability to learn facts. Wisdom is more like a skill of living, a knowing how to navigate life’s difficulties in order to maximize success, and is measured by such things as having rich and meaningful relationships with others. Today, this wisdom is often referred to as emotional intelligence or social skill or even street smarts.

Studies conducted over the past few decades has shown that, while there is a very poor correlation between having a high IQ and such positive outcomes, there is strong connection between those who have a high emotional intelligence (or social skills) and good friendships, contentment with life, and the ability to get and maintain a good job.1

Tremper Longman III