A Recipe Doesn't Make You a Cook
Most of us know more than we do. We could make a solid list of what to look for in someone to date, and most of us could also name a time we ignored that list. That gap between knowing and doing is where Pastor CJ Ward began our new series, Wisdom, a three-week look at the wisdom books of the Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job. The big idea of week one: a recipe doesn’t make you a cook, and knowing more doesn’t make you wise.
Wisdom Is Worth More Than Gold
"Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold."
"By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the watery depths were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew."
Proverbs is clear that, after a relationship with God himself, wisdom may be the most valuable thing we can find. It shapes our marriages, our work, our friendships and our faith. CJ shared a line from Tim Mackie of BibleProject: wisdom is living with the grain of the universe. God built the world with wisdom, so growing in wisdom makes us better at every part of life, not only the “spiritual” parts.
Yet Proverbs never gives a one-line definition of wisdom. It describes wise people and foolish people and lets us learn as we go.
Knowledge Isn't the Same as Wisdom
CJ put up a picture of brisket. He could explain the smoke ring, the low-and-slow cook at 225 degrees, and four ways to keep it moist. He also admitted that most of the briskets he makes come out dry. “Knowledge won’t make me a cook,” he said, “but it will make me a critic.”
Scripture describes two kinds of fools who are two sides of the same coin: the arrogant and the sluggard. One is too good to do it, the other won’t put in the work, but both know and don’t do.
“Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.” Proverbs 18:2 (NIV)
This is the trap of wanting to “go deep.” Depth isn’t knowledge. You can explain theories about the Trinity and never obey, or understand the mechanics of prayer and never pray. When a friend told CJ he couldn’t pray until he understood how prayer works, CJ told him to just pray. Like Job, we have to admit we speak of things too wonderful for us to know.
“Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” Job 42:3 (NIV)
"Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions."
This is the trap of wanting to “go deep.” Depth isn’t knowledge. You can explain theories about the Trinity and never obey, or understand the mechanics of prayer and never pray. When a friend told CJ he couldn’t pray until he understood how prayer works, CJ told him to just pray. Like Job, we have to admit we speak of things too wonderful for us to know.
"Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know."
The Bible Isn't a Recipe Book
The other kind of fool knows just enough to get by. Anyone can follow a recipe, but following a recipe doesn’t make you a cook. CJ’s Grandma Agnes grew up poor in rural western North Carolina and could open any fridge and make a meal people fought over. She didn’t know the fancy terms, but she understood cooking, and when she didn’t know something, she figured it out.
We often want the Bible to work like a recipe: a few ingredients, a set time, three steps. But the Bible doesn’t mention artificial intelligence, Bitcoin or the stock market. It gives us principles of wisdom, about marriage, sexuality, stewardship and more, so we can handle situations it never names. A recipe doesn’t make you a cook; growing in wisdom prepares you for whatever life puts in front of you.
"The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out."
Wisdom: Where Learning and Doing Meet
So what is wisdom? CJ offered a working definition: wisdom is the intersection between learning and doing. A wise person keeps learning and keeps applying what they learn. And we aren’t wise compared to someone smarter; we are wise compared to who we used to be.
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
Fearing the Lord doesn’t mean being scared of him the way you would be of a rattlesnake. It means seeing that God created everything and giving him the respect he is due. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:17, NIV). Instead of treating God like a puzzle to solve, we go to him for wisdom and let knowing him shape every part of our lives. As CJ put it, wisdom is “the intersection between knowing God and doing what he says.”
Next Steps After A Recipe Doesn't Make You a Cook
CJ ended this message without a five-step list, on purpose. A recipe doesn’t make you a cook, and wisdom grows as we keep learning and doing together. Here are a few places to start:
- Join a Life Group to study Proverbs and put it into practice with others:
- Get baptized if you are ready to follow Jesus publicly:
Did you like the message, A Recipe Doesn’t Make You a Cook? If so, check out more of our Sunday teachings here.