The acquirement of wisdom has been commended for centuries by sage and philosopher, by Christian and Confucian, by atheists and those called pagans. Bible writers urged wisdom as the way of life, as a means of deliverance and protection, as a bestower of health and happiness; yes, the writer of the Proverbs states of wisdom, "She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her." The fact that many whom the world calls wise are neither happy nor healthy indicates that their sense of wisdom does not have the same basis as that of the wisdom referred to in the Bible. "The wisdom of this world," which, as Paul says, "is foolishness with God," springs from the undependable evidence of the so-called material senses. The wisdom commended in the Bible, however, is based upon and is coincident with spiritual understanding.
If people were asked who was the wisest of all men, perhaps the thought of many would turn to Solomon. But careful consideration of the subject leads to the definite conclusion that to Christ Jesus must be accorded the honor of being the wisest as well as the most spiritually minded of all men. In fact, with him wisdom and spirituality were inseparable and coordinate. We read that "when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?" Christ Jesus taught his disciples and others logically and appealingly, and he supported his words by Christian works. He healed all manner of disease, made the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, and the blind to see; he overcame sin and even raised the dead. Quite naturally his adversaries were confounded by his words of wisdom and his wonderful works.
It is interesting, instructive, and illuminating to note that Christ Jesus, the wisest of men, was at the same time the most humble. He identified both his doctrine and his deeds with God, his Father and our Father, and so he refused to accept the personal adulation of men. He said, "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me;" and again, "The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." In these words of humility and wisdom our Master pointed to God as the infinite all-knowing Mind, the one omnipotent, all-controlling divine Principle. As Mrs. Eddy states in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 275): "All substance, intelligence, wisdom, being, immortality, cause, and effect belong to God." Continuing, she adds, "No wisdom is wise but His wisdom; no truth is true, no love is lovely, no life is Life but the divine; no good is, but the good, God bestows."
