“[Brett McCracken] recently spoke to a group of college students and asked them two questions. First: ‘How many of you have a smartphone?’ All forty hands in the room went up. Second: ‘How many of you would say your smartphone has made you a better, happier, healthier person?’ Three hands went up.”1
Let’s add this question: “How many of you would say your smartphone has helped increased your wisdom so that you live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way?”
St. Paul wrote to the Colossians:
“Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way” (Colossians 1:9–10).
Wisdom is the application of knowledge, experience, and common sense to make sound decisions or actions. Christian wisdom leads to sound Christian decisions and actions that please our Lord. The Holy Spirit gives Christians this wisdom, but how and where does he give it?
Brett McCracken’s The Wisdom Pyramid is a guide to help us be discerning in our media habits, in the things that are speaking into our hearts and minds. He adapts the old food pyramid concept to organize six sources of information used by the Holy Spirit into a balanced diet leading to wisdom. Sources of information in closest proximity to God are best and should be consumed in greatest quantity.
- Bible
- church
- nature
- books
- beauty
- social media
Social media gets a bad rap, but notice that it is on the pyramid. It’s just that it is dessert and should be consumed in relatively less proportion than other, more nutritious sources of information and entertainment.
In a world where your time is scarce and everything is jostling for your attention, don’t be a passive consumer who clicks on whatever comes your way. Avoid unplanned scrolling. Our spare moments should not be filled with online wandering, but rather “reserved for staring at walls, which is infinitely more useful.”2 :-) Don’t fear missing out on most things online—most of it is missable.
But I pray that you don’t miss out on distinctly contemplating God’s love for you today. “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (Ephesians 1:17).
1 Brett McCracken, The Wisdom Pyramid (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021), Introduction.
2 Justin Earley, The Common Rule (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2019), 88.
Read more at: https://www.brettmccracken.com/blog/2021/2/25/explaining-the-order-of-the-wisdom-pyramids-levels