Knowing God’s wisdom is more than knowing what’s true or false, or right and wrong. It’s knowing what is most apt in a particular circumstance. For example, sometimes the wise thing to do is to answer a fool according to their folly (Prov. 26:5). But at other times the wise thing to do is not to answer a fool (Prov. 26:4). So which is it? Here the question is not so much what is true or right but what is wise!

So how can we know this wisdom? In one sense, wisdom is part of God’s general revelation both to those who are saved and to those who are not-yet-saved, to those within and those outside of God’s family. This is because God has programmed his wisdom into his creation (Proverbs 8) so that it should be accessible to all. As a result, though not in each and every case, those who observe God’s wisdom in his creation will be able to live according to God’s creational design and prosper appropriately. For example, a good friend will be trustworthy (Prov. 27:6). This goes with God’s creational design. We can easily imagine how, as a general rule, this person’s friendship will prosper—the friends will enjoy each other’s loyalty, support, and commitment in times of plenty and adversity (17:17). In contrast, a foolish, untrustworthy, gossipping friend will go against God’s creational design and cause much hurt (16:28). In this case we can imagine how, by and large, this person’s friendship will not prosper, and most likely it will end in ruin. As another example, a diligent worker will be able to support themselves and pay the bills (Proverbs 6). This is part of God’s creational design. But workers who are lazy or untrustworthy go against the wisdom programmed by God into his creation. As a result, such a worker will find themselves, more often than not, in financial difficulty. You don’t have to be saved by God to know that this is wise advice.

But in another sense, we can argue that the wisdom sections of the Bible make sense only if we assume the Christian worldview and a prior relationship with God inside his kingdom. This is because wisdom is part of God’s special revelation addressed to those already within God’s family. After all, wisdom literature itself argues that the “fear of the Lord” is the beginning of wisdom (e.g., Prov. 1:7). To know Jesus is to know God’s wisdom (1 Cor. 1:24). Here, a Christian friend will be trustworthy because they are redeemed by Christ to be so (John 15:13-15). Without Christ, we will be on the wrong side of the curses in Genesis 3, where the human relationships are doomed to conflict (Gen 3:16). But with Christ we begin the journey to God’s new creation vision. Similarly, a Christian worker will work diligently because they are now ultimately working for Christ (Col. 3:22-25). Without Christ, we stay on the wrong side of the curses in Genesis 3, where our work will be frustrated (Gen. 3:17-19). But with Christ, our work has purpose and will ultimately be rewarding (Col. 3:24-25).

If the above is true, Christians should be known, not just by our love (John 13:35), but also by our wisdom (Col. 4:5). Interestingly, when the Jews in the Old Testament were in foreign lands, part of what made them stand out was their wisdom—for example, Joseph (Gen. 41:39; Acts 7:10), Moses (Acts 7:22), Daniel (Dan. 5:11), and Ezra (Ezra 7:25). Similarly, in the New Testament Jesus promised wisdom to his disciples so that they could stand up for him (Luke 21:15). In the same way, now that we in the West are living in a culture that is increasingly post-Christian, we can be known for our wisdom. If our views on ethics have become, fairly or unfairly, a barrier to belief in the Christian worldview, perhaps it’s time for our wisdom to become an entry to belief in the Christian worldview.

We can do this by accessing God’s general revelation, which is available to all. Here we can gain much wisdom from the world of non-believers. Interestingly this is exactly what the Old Testament heroes did: Moses learned much wisdom from the Egyptians (Acts 7:22), and Daniel from the Babylonians (Dan. 1:5). In the same way, we can make a special effort to attend seminars, listen to podcasts, and sign up for courses that are run by non-believers. Not only will this help us find easy common ground with our non-believing friends, because we’re reading and listening to their authors and experts. But it will also open us up to a wider range of God’s wisdom. For example, I’ve learned much by going to parenting courses run by experts, most of whom are not believers. I read the New York Times regularly. And I have a steady diet of podcasts, such as Freakonomics, Invisibilia, Malcolm Gladwell, The Moth, Planet Money, Pop Culture Happy Hour, Radio Atlantic, Reply All, TED talks, and This American Life. And at the same time, we can access God’s special revelation, not only through the Scriptures, but also through the blessings of being a believer, not least the Holy Spirit who lives inside us to change us and guide us.

If we put all of this together, we will have a way of life that is obviously wise to all. We will stand out—just like Joseph and Daniel stood out in their foreign lands. The evidence will be that our way of life simply works better. In the same way that my friends at the BBQ wanted to talk to me about lawns, we will find that our non-believing friends will want to talk to us about other weighty matters of wisdom. They will come to us and ask us for our views. For example, just the other day at work a nurse asked me, “How do you get your children to obey you?” And I was able to share with her some general wisdom on parenting. As another example, because I have been able to maintain a relatively healthy lifestyle of eating sensibly, daily exercise, cycling, and surfing, many of my friends ask me for advice on eating and exercise. Moreover, we will find a ready audience that wants to listen to weighty matters of wisdom. In my work with City Bible Forum, I often give talks to downtown city workers on mid-life crises, parenting, work-life balance, burnout, leadership, grieving, and finding purpose in work.