Every once in a while and not that often, a friend of mine sends me and others what he calls Timbits of Truth. These are little nuggets of truth derived from the Bible and I find to be very thought provoking. I don’t know where he gets them.
They’re short and to the point and something to mull over. I’d like to share them with you as they arrive and glean your thoughts on what 's being said. Here is today’s timbit.
“Knowledge is knowing ‘what’ to say. Wisdom is knowing ‘how’ to say the what. It can sometimes also be: knowing what not to say, and then not saying it! Wisdom is a function of time & experience.(Prov.4) Wise people listen intently & talk less. Knowledge is proud that it knows so much; Wisdom is humble that she knows no more.(Lk.7:35).”
What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom?
The word knowledge is defined first as the “acquaintance with facts, truths or principles, as from study or investigation; general erudition.” It is recorded at least by the 1300s as the Middle English knouleche, which combines the verb know (a verb that means “to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty”) and –leche, which may be related to the same suffix we see in wedlock and conveys a sense of “action, practice, or state.”
Knowledge is typically gained through books, research, and delving into facts. Knowledge can also be gained in the bedroom (hubba hubba!), as the term is sometimes used, albeit archaically, to describe sexual intercourse. As in: they had carnal knowledge of one another.
Wisdom is defined as “the state of being wise,” which means “having the power of discernment and judging properly as to what is true or right: possessing discernment, judgement, or discretion.” It’s older (recorded before the 900s), and joins wise and -dom, a suffix that can convey “general condition,” as in freedom. Wisdom is typically gained from experiences and acquired over time.
While wisdom and knowledge are synonyms, the other synonyms for each word, respectively, don’t overlap much. And they give more hints at each word’s unique meaning.
For example, other synonyms for knowledge include:
ability
awareness
education
expertise
familiarity
grasp
Other synonyms for wisdom include:
caution
experience
foresight
judgment
prudence
The primary difference between the two words is that wisdom involves a healthy dose of perspective and the ability to make sound judgments about a subject while knowledge is simply knowing. Anyone can become knowledgeable about a subject by reading, researching, and memorizing facts. It’s wisdom, however, that requires more understanding and the ability to determine which facts are relevant in certain situations. Wisdom takes knowledge and applies it with discernment based on experience, evaluation, and lessons learned.
A quote by an unknown author sums up the differences well: “Knowledge is knowing what to say. Wisdom is knowing when to say it.”
Wisdom is also about knowing when and how to use your knowledge, being able to put situations in perspective, and how to impart it to others. For example, you may be very knowledgeable about how to raise a baby after reading countless books, attending classes, and talking to wise friends and family members. When that precious little person comes home, however, most new parents would kill for an ounce of wisdom to help soothe their screaming baby … and their fears.
To put it another way, there is this simple fruit salad philosophy: “Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in the fruit salad.”
What comes first: wisdom or knowledge?
So which comes first, knowledge or wisdom? There’s no chicken-egg scenario here: knowledge always comes first. Wisdom is built upon knowledge. That means you can be both wise and knowledgeable, but you can’t be wise without being knowledgeable. And just because you’re knowledgeable doesn’t mean you’re wise … even though your teenager may feel differently.
As for how long it takes to achieve wisdom, and how you know when you have achieved it, that’s where things get murkier. Albert Einstein famously said, “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” So yeah, it’s one of those journey-not-destination things. There’s no limit to wisdom, however, and you can certainly gain degrees of it along the way.
So, there you have it. Have you wised up to the differences between the two words yet?
“…Knowledge is proud that it knows so much; wisdom is humble that she knows no more.”
They are used sloppily as synonyms in practice all over. But I think the fact of the matter is that, knowledge is of the mind and wisdom is of the heart.
If you build a man a fire, you keep him warm for a night. If you set a man on fire, you keep him warm for the rest of his life…!
I think of wisdom as acquiring understanding and being able to apply it. Knowledge, as you say, is knowing certain things and can be obtained by anyone who has the desire and ability to know. But wisdom is understanding and is seen in the application of knowledge. Solomon applied his wisdom when the two women came to him fighting over the child that was still alive. Knowledge told him that one of them was the mother. He applied wisdom to tell him which one it was.
Wisdom is often seen in the timing. When to say and when to withhold. Wisdom knows when to speak and when to withhold. If the timing is off our response won’t be heard but argued against. With wisdom we approach it differently because our goal is not just to be heard, but for them to also see. Knowledge doesn’t accomplish this. Knowledge applied with wisdom can.
The Bible make a distinction between earthly wisdom and the wisdom that the Spirit gives. God’s wisdom seems linked to understanding. It goes deeper than knowledge or just knowing, but it begins with knowing. Col 1:9 You could say that wisdom is knowledge applied in a godly manner.
I think that wisdom goes beyond the facts or what may be known and when wisdom speaks it looks like what James describes in 3:17
It’s timbits and it’s Canadian. There’s a very popular coffee shop called Tim Hortons and they make donut holes called timbits. It’s taken from that. lol