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Kind of an odd question here, but I'm asking more for confirmation that the answer is "no" rather than wondering at the answer.
The reason I ask is because me and my father have had this longstanding debate with each other for years now regarding the subject of Wisdom. His belief (which I would tend to agree with) is that as you get older and more experienced, you therefore accumulate more wisdom with the lessons of your years.
The part of his philosophy that I don't agree with is that you can't actually know true Wisdom without the being "tainted and broken by sin and dysfunction" as he says (his exact words in quotes).
He contends that unless someone does wrong and has had wrong done to them in life, they will never truly be capable of understanding the opposite of those actions. It’s a sort of "no light without darkness" kind of argument.
I debate the other side and tell him that Wisdom is certainly something that comes with experience, but that it doesn't necessarily need to be tainted by sin or dysfunction in order to be legitimate. I contend that true wisdom is a pure gift from God and that sin and brokenness is not needed for Wisdom to exist, and that Jesus is the ultimate Wisdom of those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:30).
At this, Dad usually tells me that I’m being disrespectful of his years, and that when I finally become broken enough by age I will come to understand. He tells me to shut up because I don’t (and can’t) understand anything yet.
Now while I agree with his idea that negative/breaking experiences can certainly shape you (I won’t dispute that), I do not agree that sin and brokenness is absolutely necessary for Wisdom. If they were (I ask my Dad) what does God have?
At this point in the usual debate, Dad calls me a blasphemer and says I haven’t truly become a man yet, and to come back when I’ve suffered more, then we can talk. I know, what the heck with that, right?
Just to let you know, my Dad has been through a lot in his life, and he is actually a pretty wise man albeit a bit jaded and tired of life. He often has lots of sorrowful or angry moments and sometimes wonders as to his salvation despite being a devout Christian. I try to reassure him on this point with Bible verses too, but his scars run pretty deep, and he seems to take an unusual sense of backwards pride in them as if they were some kind of badge of honor.
On the opposite end, I grew up in a very sheltered and non-dysfunctional existence, so I often find it hard to connect with him. He can be a hard person to empathize with and often tries to balm his pain with alcohol (a problem I sometimes share, but because of enjoyment instead of pain, to make a confession. It's something I'm changing about myself lately). Understand, I don’t place myself higher than my Dad in my mind – I’ve got a lot of his same sins. We share a lot of the same problems, but from a different perspective. It’s kind of complicated. We are both Christians, however, and we try to turn to Jesus regardless of circumstance whenever. I dunno, I kinda rambled here, sorry. I don’t need any other Crucifixion but Jesus’, if anybody catches my drift…
But how 'bout that Wisdom question, though? Anybody have an answer from the Bible or experience on that one?
The reason I ask is because me and my father have had this longstanding debate with each other for years now regarding the subject of Wisdom. His belief (which I would tend to agree with) is that as you get older and more experienced, you therefore accumulate more wisdom with the lessons of your years.
The part of his philosophy that I don't agree with is that you can't actually know true Wisdom without the being "tainted and broken by sin and dysfunction" as he says (his exact words in quotes).
He contends that unless someone does wrong and has had wrong done to them in life, they will never truly be capable of understanding the opposite of those actions. It’s a sort of "no light without darkness" kind of argument.
I debate the other side and tell him that Wisdom is certainly something that comes with experience, but that it doesn't necessarily need to be tainted by sin or dysfunction in order to be legitimate. I contend that true wisdom is a pure gift from God and that sin and brokenness is not needed for Wisdom to exist, and that Jesus is the ultimate Wisdom of those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:30).
At this, Dad usually tells me that I’m being disrespectful of his years, and that when I finally become broken enough by age I will come to understand. He tells me to shut up because I don’t (and can’t) understand anything yet.
Now while I agree with his idea that negative/breaking experiences can certainly shape you (I won’t dispute that), I do not agree that sin and brokenness is absolutely necessary for Wisdom. If they were (I ask my Dad) what does God have?
At this point in the usual debate, Dad calls me a blasphemer and says I haven’t truly become a man yet, and to come back when I’ve suffered more, then we can talk. I know, what the heck with that, right?
Just to let you know, my Dad has been through a lot in his life, and he is actually a pretty wise man albeit a bit jaded and tired of life. He often has lots of sorrowful or angry moments and sometimes wonders as to his salvation despite being a devout Christian. I try to reassure him on this point with Bible verses too, but his scars run pretty deep, and he seems to take an unusual sense of backwards pride in them as if they were some kind of badge of honor.
On the opposite end, I grew up in a very sheltered and non-dysfunctional existence, so I often find it hard to connect with him. He can be a hard person to empathize with and often tries to balm his pain with alcohol (a problem I sometimes share, but because of enjoyment instead of pain, to make a confession. It's something I'm changing about myself lately). Understand, I don’t place myself higher than my Dad in my mind – I’ve got a lot of his same sins. We share a lot of the same problems, but from a different perspective. It’s kind of complicated. We are both Christians, however, and we try to turn to Jesus regardless of circumstance whenever. I dunno, I kinda rambled here, sorry. I don’t need any other Crucifixion but Jesus’, if anybody catches my drift…
But how 'bout that Wisdom question, though? Anybody have an answer from the Bible or experience on that one?
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