Knowledge, Understanding, Insight, Wisdom, and Foolishness

In this article, I’d like to address five (5) essential topics that will help you grow and mature in your journey with Christ. Here they are:

• Knowledge
• Understanding
• Insight
• Wisdom
• Foolishness

To make sure we’re all on the same page – and know what we’re talking about – let’s begin with their definitions:

• Knowledge is acquiring facts, information, and truth – through study and/or experience.
• Understanding is an ability to grasp the meaning and connections behind the individual pieces of knowledge.
• Insight is an ability to perceive the deeper nature or implications of what one understands.
• Wisdom is the application of knowledge, understanding, and insight in a way that is good, honorable, efficient, and beneficial for all involved parties.
• Foolishness is the tendency to make choices based on selfishness, pride, or ignorance, often with no thought or regard for consequences.

Next, let’s look at a natural progression:

1. Knowledge is what you know (facts, truths, God’s Word).
2. Understanding is why it matters (you comprehend its meaning).
3. Insight is how it connects to life (discernment and depth).
4. Wisdom is what you do with it (obedient, godly action).
5. Foolishness is a deviation or breakdown at any stage of the progression (disobedience, ungodly action).

Here’s an analogy to help you put them all together:

Knowledge is having the tools, understanding is knowing how to use them, insight is knowing when and why to use them, wisdom is building something good and purposeful with them, and foolishness is refusing to use the tools—even though something purposeful and beneficial needs to be built—because of pride and/or laziness.

Finally, here are some examples from four areas of everyday life:

1. The Spiritual

• Knowledge: A young man (or woman) memorizes John 3:16.
• Understanding: He (or she) realizes this verse is about God’s sacrificial love for humanity.
• Insight: He (or she) begins to see how this love beckons him (or her) to mature and eventually love others sacrificially.
• Wisdom: He (or she) starts the processes of forgiving, loving, and mentoring others.

2. The Financial

• Knowledge: He (or she) learns that debt carries interest, and the borrower becomes a servant to the lender (Proverbs 22:7).
• Understanding: He (or she) realizes that impulsive spending leads to mental and emotional bondage.
• Insight: He (or she) recognizes that emotions drive their current spending habits and lack proper planning.
• Wisdom: He (or she) builds a budget, avoids unnecessary debt, and invests wisely.

3. Fitness/Health

• Knowledge: He (or she) learns that their body is a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
• Understanding: He (or she) sees that neglecting their health can dishonor God and limit His purpose in their lives.
• Insight: He (or she) identifies their unhealthy habits as signs of poor stewardship.
• Wisdom: He (or she) commits to a balanced lifestyle of nutrition, rest, and exercise.

4. Relationships

• Knowledge: He learns that Ephesians 5:25 instructs husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church.
• Understanding: The husband grasps that love means devotion and self-sacrifice, not just emotion.
• Insight: The husband realizes he tends to be self-centered in romance.
• Wisdom: The husband starts serving, listening to, giving, and valuing his wife instead of always taking.

And finally, foolishness is the knowledge and understanding of all of these things, yet it refuses to do any of them!

Why is all of this important? Consider the following verses:

1. “The [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but arrogant fools despise [skillful and godly] wisdom and instruction and self-discipline.”
– Proverbs 1:7

2. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'”
– Psalm 14:1

3. “The mind of the prudent [always] acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise [always] seeks knowledge.”
– Proverbs 18:15

4. “Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.”
– Proverbs 3:5

5. “The beginning of wisdom is: Get [skillful and godly] wisdom [it is preeminent]! And with all your acquiring, get understanding [actively seek spiritual discernment, mature comprehension, and logical interpretation].”
– Proverbs 4:7

6. “He who is slow to anger has great understanding [and profits from his self-control], but he who is quick-tempered exposes and exalts his foolishness [for all to see].”
– Proverbs 14:29

7. “A [closed-minded] fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his personal opinions [unwittingly displaying his self-indulgence and his stupidity].”
– Proverbs 18:2

Well, I hope you’ve gained some valuable insight from this article. And, I hope you feel encouraged and inspired to pursue knowledge, understanding, insight, and wisdom – so that you may live a life that pleases your Lord so much that He says to you at your judgment, “Well done thou good and faithful servant! You have been faithful in a few things. Enter into the joy of your Master!”

INTERESTING NOTE: One of my first prayers many years ago was, “Lord, one day I want to be knowledgeable, wise, and insightful like Solomon and Stephen. Help me!”

Why did I pray that prayer? Well, at that point in my life, I hated to read. I only wanted to experience fun and enjoyable things in life! But with one prayer, that all began to change. And I am thankful for the change that occurred!

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe I am anywhere near Solomon and Stephen’s level of knowledge, understanding, insight, or wisdom. But I know I have made great strides in their direction. And I want to encourage you to do something similar!

If you have questions or comments, email me here and let’s chat.

Roy