"God is always looking for a young person to pour His wisdom into, and no one is excluded. If you want it, you can be a candidate for the wisdom of God." Jackson, Chapter 19, Among Kings

In one of the scenes of the Emoji Movie, the emoticons “Meh” and “High Five” are walking through a myriad of apps on a modern teenage cell phone. They check out Spotify, dip into Weather and eventually land in the world of social media. There they enter the Facebook app to see what it’s all about. Meh enters the metaphorical Facebook room and after hearing several posts like, “Look at what I just ate!”, or “Check out my new puppy!” Meh leaves shaking his head.

“I don’t get it,” he says. “All anyone is doing is just talking about themselves.” Now this is just a passing line in a kid’s movie that bombed at the box office. No one besides me has ever thought twice about this scene (evidenced by the fact that I can’t even find the scene on YouTube.) And yet, I’ve always thought it pointed to an obvious but unconsidered fact about social media. It serves as a platform to send one-way communications, mostly about yourself and your life. It feels like a communication exchange, and yet it isn’t. Comments replace conversation. Likes sometimes replace words entirely. The data lives indefinitely. Theoretically, you could say whatever you want on this channel. But should you?

For me, a short definition of wisdom boils down to this 5 word question, “I could, but should I?” I Corinthians 10:23 also asks this question, “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.” The APMC version spells it out even more plainly, “All things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life].” Yes, we have our free will, which is so obvious we sometimes forget about it. And how we exercise our free will and the knowledge we have is where wisdom comes in. Consider these statements:

“I don’t ask my husband anything until after he’s eaten dinner.”

“My teenager cannot have a phone unless it has a protective case.”

“Sometimes she’s like a stew. You have to drop an idea in, and let it simmer for awhile and then you get a better response later.”

All of them contain simple relational wisdom that has been learned and applied over time. God has a soft spot for wisdom seekers. Trust me. The famed Solomon, wisest person who ever lived could have asked God for riches, good looks, health, long life or even a dozen wives (common then). He asked for wisdom instead. And God decided to bless him with wisdom, fortune, AND long life.

As Jackson notes in chapter 19, finding wisdom can be tricky amid all of our modern distractions. Wisdom isn’t competing for your attention or dollars. In fact, it can seem rather elusive. It isn’t something that can be added to your resume. It isn’t going to help you slim down or smooth out wrinkles. It is the well-earned badge of a student of life.

With the attitude of a student, you remain humble and most importantly, teachable. As long as you remain open and teachable, your opportunities to grow in wisdom are limitless. On the contrary, arrogance or a closed-minded approach will shut down growth. Jackson points out (and my experience confirms) that it is essential to find a mentor, and you may need to be the one to initiate that relationship. Why you ask? Because saying, “I need a mentor” is worlds less awkward than saying, “I think you need some mentoring.” And on that subject, you might just call it “meeting for coffee”. The arrangement doesn’t have to be formal. In fact, it’s probably less pressure on both parties if it isn’t. A mentor guides you through some of life’s biggest decisions. And sometimes, the best advice includes considering the timing of your decisions. In closing, some of the best life advice I’ve heard could fit inside a fortune cookie:

“Never reply when you’re angry. Never make a promise when you’re happy, and never make a decision when you’re sad.”