Do you think people confuse confidence with wisdom now?

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Sometimes it feels like the loudest or most confident voices automatically get treated as the wisest.

But confidence and wisdom are not always the same thing.

Curious what others think.

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There are two people on the street. One young man is bragging and showing off his skills, putting on quite a show. What you do not realize is that the old quiet one, he is the master. Why? He needs to prove nothing.

Confidence is often about certainty. It is an outward-facing signal designed to persuade, lead, or dominate a space. In many cases, it’s driven by the “Dunning-Kruger Effect,” where a lack of deep knowledge actually makes someone feel more certain because they don’t know enough to realize what they’re missing.

Wisdom is almost always rooted in intellectual humility. A wise person understands the complexity and nuance of a situation, which usually leads them to speak with more caution. The wise often use qualifiers like “It depends,” “perhaps,” or “based on what we know so far.”

Where the confident often use absolutes like “Always,” “Never,” and “Obviously.” Because the “wise” voice acknowledges the possibility of being wrong, it can sound “weak” compared to the person pounding the table.

It’s exhausting to sit with ambiguity. We gravitate toward people who give us clear, simple answers because it reduces our mental load. If someone is charismatic and confident, we subconsciously assume they must be competent in other areas, like judgment or ethics.

In a group setting, the first person to speak with conviction often sets the “anchor” for the entire conversation. Instead of looking for how loud a voice is, it’s often more useful to look at the “doubt-to-data” ratio. True wisdom is usually comfortable with doubt, not as a sign of weakness, but as a creative and analytical tool to identify logical inconsistencies before they become mistakes.

Remember,

“Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,”

Whenever you hear something that simply does not sound right, pray about it. God will show you.
Peter

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I think it’s getting better because it’s been beyond obtuse for long enough and Trump has taken major steps.

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I think it is much worse. People are losing value, not losing their value, but becoming expendable. It is very sad.

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Whether confidence is confused for wisdom depends on the listener. Confidence can be intimidating and it can be also fully wrong. In and of itself, confidence doesn’t mount to much, but taken with true words it can go a long ways.
Someone who is confidently wrong is someone I tend to back away from. Not saying that’s the right thing to do. Just what I tend to do. I don’t like arguing or strife. But someone who is confident and seemingly right makes me ask questions.
Whether or not the two can be confused depends on the majority level and knowledge of the listener. A mature believer would never mistake one for the other.

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Understandable and I can totally see it. I believe in the silent majority is wiser and doesn’t generally reflect the leftist noise pushed on media though.
I do agree with you somewhat but the noise is also pushed for division and the loss in confidence, if I may say, just as you are expressing and I feel that way at times too.
The enemy wants us to give up and get on board w/ the “world’s views”. Even the pope pushes the owo lies.
Predominantly by far these views expressed are not grass roots home grown they are taught with the gaslighting talk, WEF, UN, WHO, et all propaganda coordinated by educated and united fraudsters. The overwhelming seemingly consensus of the leftist ways but it’s not what it appears or they wouldn’t have to pay the protesters. it’s a charade.

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Just curious. Care to elaborate?
Peter

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I’m convinced that intelligent and very knowledgeable people often lack wisdom and common sense. I’ll be accused of ageism, but in my experience the younger people are the more likely it is that wisdom and common sense will be in short supply. I know this is true because I was young once!

And we can step that up, because the world and the true Church need the lasting influence of godly wisdom.

In the world, intelligence, knowledge and talent inspire confidence. But these have no lasting substance.

“If youth but knew, if old age were but able.”

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his instructions have good insight” (Psalm 110:10).

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There are two aspects to this. One, as Abraham Lincoln said, “The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.” This is why we see God removed from schools and all the garbage taught. This way, generation after generation later, Sin is good, and Good is sin.

But then you simply have ignorance. This is why God tells us that we need to choose leaders in the Church, or Body, who are older and wiser.

"Here is a saying you can trust. If anyone wants to be a leader in the church, they want to do a good work for God and people. A leader must be free from blame. He must be faithful to his wife. In anything he does, he must not go too far. He must control himself. He must be worthy of respect.

He must welcome people into his home. He must be able to teach. He must not get drunk. He must not push people around. He must be gentle. He must not be a person who likes to argue. He must not love money. He must manage his own family well. He must make sure that his children obey him. And he must do this in a way that gains him respect. Suppose someone doesn’t know how to manage his own family. Then how can he take care of God’s church?

The leader must not be a new believer. If he is, he might become proud. Then he would be judged just like the devil. The leader must also be respected by those who are outside the church. Then he will not be put to shame. He will not fall into the devil’s trap." 1 Timothy 3:1-7

In nearly all other cultures around the world, the Elders are respected. Sadly, in America, we have lost this holy concept.
Peter

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A society begins to grow cold when people are valued mainly by usefulness, productivity, politics, age, health, or what they can provide. The unborn, the elderly, the poor, the sick, the lonely, the immigrant, the disabled — all can begin to be viewed more as burdens, numbers, or problems instead of human souls.

We should never forget that Christ spent much of His time with the people society overlooked. A person’s worth does not come from wealth, status, strength, or convenience. Human beings are not disposable.

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I absolutely agree with you. I’m not sure what your point here is, though. Did I come across like I did not? Not sure where this fits into what I was saying.
Peter

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In an earlier post, you asked me to elaborate. i did so.

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You are absolutely right. The world looks at a human being and asks, ‘What can you do for me? What is your political value? What is your economic output?’ But the Gospel looks at a human being and says, ‘You are a masterpiece of the Sovereign Lord, bearing His image, and you are so deeply loved that Christ willingly stepped into your weakness and died to redeem you.’ A society that forgets this loses its soul, but the Church is called to be the ultimate sanctuary for those the world throws away.

J.

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