“The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.” - Proverbs 14:15

Will you think often about God’s wise counsel?

Jun 2, 2025

Janet Denison

G. K. Chesterton is attributed as writing, “When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.” An agnostic isn’t a person who does not believe in God as much as they are a person who doesn’t believe in believing.

In this era of endless information, we seem to lack an abundance of wisdom. We don’t lack ideas, opinions, and factual knowledge. We can search for answers about our health, wealth, and anything else we have questions about. Wisdom is knowing what to do with all we know. Wisdom is knowing what to believe and what to ignore.

I’m often surprised at the ideas and entertainment people fill their time and minds with. A science fiction movie used to be unusual; now those movies dominate the theaters. Why are people fascinated with all that cannot be true yet able to ignore what has been trusted and believed for centuries from the pages of God’s word? Why are we more fascinated by things created than we are by the Creator?

The simple will believe anything, which is really a belief in nothing. A “prudent” person is a person who thinks. Thinking takes time and energy. Discernment requires us to think with God’s perspective. Wisdom requires a desire for truth, not just a hunger for more ideas.

Good advice and careful instruction provide wisdom. Our best advice is the result of “prudent” thinking. We need to discern those thoughts and ideas that are authored by God. Wisdom is truth, and believing truth is wisdom. Will you think often about God’s wisdom and choose to believe him?