PROVERBS 4:7-10: “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.” Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many.” NKJV
OBSERVATION: Do I have a Biblical Worldview? Do I even know what a Biblical Worldview is? George Barna, of the Barna Institute, surveyed Evangelicals (those who profess faith in Christ and believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God) and found that only 4% of Evangelicals hold a Biblical Worldview.
This statistic is alarming. It is even more alarming in that this study is 3 points down from a previous one. The trend is not improving – it is getting worse! To put this into a context that you can visualize, let’s take a typical church in America. The average church is not a mega-church. The average church is 100 members or fewer. So, in a church of 100, there are only 4 people who hold a Biblical Worldview!
What is a Biblical Worldview? I believe Solomon gives us insight into what this is in the inspired words of the Book of Proverbs.
- “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom.”
Wisdom is the principal thing! It is the “Main Thing!” Wisdom is personified in Jesus Christ. However, we can define wisdom in this way.
Wisdom is seeing life from God’s perspective.
Therefore, wisdom is to have a Biblical Worldview. It is to see life through God’s eyes. And, we see life through God’s eyes as we see life through the prism of His Word. Jesus, the living Word, came to this earth to reveal the Father. He came to help us see life through God’s eyes. Jesus constantly said – “You have heard it said, but I say unto you…”. Man, left to his own, will always move away from the Father. Jesus, the Logos of God, came to reveal the Father and to declare His will and His glory!
- “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 NKJV
Jesus, the living Word, became flesh and called us back to God’s written Word. He revealed the true heart of the Father. Jesus, Wisdom personified, came to reveal the Father’s heart and to call us to live our lives in the light of this revelation.
- “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:7-8 NKJV
To live with a Biblical Worldview is to look at life, all of life, through Jesus’ eyes. We can only do this as we abide in the wisdom that is from above. We abide in the wisdom that is from above as we abide in His Word. The Bible becomes our corrective lens to lead us away from sin and darkness and into His marvelous light. Every thought, every action, and every decision is surrendered in obedience to the revelation of His Word.
Solomon does not stop here. While wisdom is the principal thing, the main thing, it is incomplete without understanding.
- “And in all your getting, get understanding.”
Whereas wisdom is seeing life from God’s perspective, understanding is learning to live life from this perspective in the actions and choices we make each day. God’s wisdom is incomplete without action. Understanding is the action of our faith. We believe – because He has spoken. We do – because we believe. We don’t simply abide in the Word through meditation and prayer. We put the Word into practice by grace through faith.
Every belief, every decision, every choice, every action, is brought in subjection to the Wisdom of God! This is what it means to have a Biblical Worldview. We don’t say – “Well, I think…”. Rather, we say – “Let’s look and see what God has to say!” The difficult truths of Scripture do not cause us to run away. They cause us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and cry out for more grace!
The pathway of a Biblical Worldview is the road less traveled. Yet, it is the very road that God is calling every follower of Christ to take. The reason why the church in America is anemic is because we have forsaken wisdom. And, in forsaking wisdom we have neglected understanding. We are trudging on a rocky path without the light of life. Our concepts of life are being molded by the world, the media, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumbler. We need to return to the “Main Thing!”
- “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom.”
Solomon goes on and writes the blessedness of living in the wisdom and understanding of God’s Word.
- “Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.” Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many.”
Jesus said the same thing in John 10:10,
- “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32 NKJV
What does a Biblical Worldview, seeing life through God’s eyes, seeing life through Jesus, do? It reveals the truth of every situation. It leads us from bondage into liberty. It positions our hearts and lives under the mighty hand of God so that we can receive His forgiveness and cleansing and receive His overcoming grace. It leads us to the life that God intended for us when He created us. It showers upon us God’s love, glory, favor, and grace. And, it extends our life in both quality and quantity!
When Jesus said there was a thief who wants to kill, steal, and destroy everything in our life – He was not kidding! While Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly, Satan is always trying to kill, steal, and destroy all that God wants to do in our life. And, the easiest way he does this is by leading us away from God’s wisdom and enticing us to trust in wisdom of our own making. When he does this, all he has to do is take a seat and watch the train wreck.
To live without God’s wisdom and understanding is to cooperate with the enemy’s plan for our life.
Lord, I want to enter into Your life! I want to live my life through Your eyes! I want to pursue Your wisdom as the principal thing in my life. And, I want to take steps of obedience as You teach me each day how to walk in understanding. Grant me the grace to live my life each moment and each day with a Biblical Worldview!
In Jesus’ Name!
Kirk's Journal 