To Become Wise

To Become Wise, Spend Time with Wise People

To Become Wise, Spend Time with Wise People
By Rick Warren

“Spend time with the wise and you will become wise, but the friends of fools will suffer” (Proverbs 13:20 NCV).

Have you ever heard the old phrase, “If you want to soar with the eagles, you can’t run with the turkeys”?

If you’re going to be wise, you’ve got to get some wise people in your life.

You don’t need a lot of friends in life. You don’t need to be popular. You just need a few good friends who build you up, not tear you down, who are wise, not fools. If you hang around with fools, that’s what you become.

We always grow in community. You cannot grow to spiritual maturity by yourself. You could become a monk and move to the top of a mountain and spend your life in silence and reading books. You would grow in knowledge, but you wouldn’t grow in wisdom.

Why? Because wisdom is all about love. Wisdom shows up primarily in relationships. That’s why a lot of people have educational degrees, but their marriages are falling apart. They’re educated, but they’re not wise.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:20, “Spend time with the wise and you will become wise, but the friends of fools will suffer” (NCV).

If I stand on the edge of a stage, and I’m trying to pull you up while you’re trying to pull me down, which is easier to do? It’s always easier for somebody to pull you down than pull you up. People who pull you down are not your friends. Friends pull you up. Friends encourage you in your pursuit of godly wisdom by offering their own.

Do you have anybody in your life who is giving input for good on a regular basis? You need that kind of encouragement in your life if you want to be a wise person.

Talk It Over

• Who are the people who are closest to you?
• How are those people encouraging you in spiritual growth and wisdom? Or, how are they distracting you from learning to live wisely?
• Is it more important to you to have a lot of friends or a few, deep relationships? Why do you think this is so?