OPTION 1: WISE OR SMART?

Provide two large posters—one with the word WISE with its definition written at the top, and one with the word SMART with its definition written at the top.

“Wise” means having or showing experience, knowledge, and good judgment. (Synonyms include: sage, intelligent, clever, learned, enlightened, shrewd, sensible, discerning.)

“Smart” means having or showing quick-witted intelligence. (Synonyms include: clever, bright, intelligent, sharp, astute, apt, able, perceptive, well-educated.)

Provide index cards or pieces of paper with one of the synonyms for wise or smart printed on each.  Mix them all up and then invite the students to place each of the synonyms under the word it best describes.

QUESTIONS

• The definition of wisdom includes “experience.” In what areas or ways would you describe yourself as wise?
• What have you learned the hard way, or by trial and error?
• How is that different from being smart?
• Who is the smartest person you know of? Why?
• Who is the wisest person you know of? Why?
• How can someone be wise but not smart? How can someone be smart but not wise?

OPTION 2: WISECRACKS

Quotes Sheet 

Separate the students into groups of three or four. Provide each group with one of the following quotes on wisdom. Ask each of the groups to spend a few minutes discussing the quote, then prepare to describe and explain the meaning of the quote to the rest of the class. Allow each group about one or two minutes to present their interpretation. If you have very few students, distribute the quotes among them, but let them work in pairs or trios for their explanations.

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” -William Shakespeare

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” -Confucius

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”-Albert Einstein

“Wisdom is the power to put our time and our knowledge to the proper use.” -Thomas J. Watson

“Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.” -Francis Bacon

“Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.” -Will Rogers

“Wisdom is the knowledge of good and evil, not the strength to choose between the two.” -John Cheever

“Pain is the doorway to wisdom and to truth.” -Keith Miller

QUESTIONS

• Think of some bad decisions you have made. Did you know better at the time?
• Why did you make that choice?
• What negative consequences did you experience?
• What lessons or wisdom did you gain from that experience?

TRANSITION

In I Kings, Solomon asked God for wisdom so he could be a good king. The word wisdom is mentioned 219 times in the Bible, while the word “intelligent” is used four times and “intelligence” five times. Wisdom seems to be a very valued asset.

Allow your thinking to be challenged in order to expand your perspective. This will help you develop empathy and increase your emotional intelligence. In the process, you may find you handle people, challenges, and even disappointment in an entirely different manner

The wise person believes that God’s ways are always true, that His ways are always best despite what their friends may say, what the in-crowd says, what the latest fad may be, what their hormones are telling them, what their desire for independence may be telling them, and what the deceptive, short-term possible benefits of sin may appear to be.

QUESTIONS

• What have you learned the hard way?
• If someone has spent years and years studying a topic—such as sports, politics, religion, health, relationships—or has read a hundred books on it and taken courses on it for years, does that make them smart?
• Does that necessarily make them wise?
• Have you ever met someone who studies the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s beliefs but doesn’t implement any of them in their life?
• Are there any areas of your life where you know you should be following God, but you’re not?