Success Combines Wisdom, Intelligence, and Knowledge
[Successful Kingdom Enterprises] Series 10 – Text/Jeff Ahern – Translation/Lin Yu
Blessed is he who obtains wisdom and understanding.
For to gain wisdom is better than to gain silver, and its profit is greater than to gain pure gold. (Proverbs 3:13-14)
decide, decide, decide
In this series of articles, we explore how to bring the Kingdom into your corporate mission: Examine the need for a paradigm shift; Live out divine love and position yourself for success by obeying and honoring God and others; Find the Kingdom Mission; obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit and execute it in God’s way; unlock the resources of heaven through prayer.
This article will take a closer look at how to receive and combine wisdom, understanding, and knowledge from the Lord, so as to know what exactly our mission in heaven is to do, when to do it, and how to do it.
Decisions, decisions, decisions. Some people say that today’s life is based on yesterday’s decisions. Just imagine, if all the decisions we make, whether in personal life or business, are based on listening to God’s voice, will our business, marriage, relationships, financial situation, etc., be better than the current situation? ?
Believers have access to heavenly revelation, which is a heavenly advantage that you and I have over our unbeliever competitors. If all decisions are led by the Holy Spirit, our personal lives and business development will be successful. If we are in a state of ups and downs and struggling to survive, it shows that we are not making decisions according to the leading of the Lord. Sadly and absurdly, many believers make decisions in the same way as non-believers and wonder why they can't get better results than they do.
Let’s look at the difference between wisdom, understanding, and knowledge as it relates to heavenly revelation from the Lord. It will also help you understand your own Kingdom mission, and how, where, and to whom you carry it out. Before we list the different ways God communicates to people, let us first understand why heavenly revelation is needed and what to do with the revelation we receive.
Definition wisdom, intelligence, knowledge
before <Success requires finding the right mission in heaven〉 (Issue 68), I proposed that the mission of the Kingdom of Heaven is to “do the right thing.” Many times, business operators do choose the right business, but adopt the wrong business model; this is "doing the right thing wrongly." Examples include Microsoft and McDonald's in their early days. After changing their initial business models, the company's sales and profits increased significantly and continued to grow.
So how can we know our mission in heaven? How to decide on the right business model? What are some ways to become outstanding in your field? The answer lies in seeking wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge.
"Wisdom", "cleverness", and "knowledge" seem to be synonymous and can be used interchangeably. However, in the Bible, whether in the original Hebrew or Greek, these words have different definitions. Since these words are mentioned individually in the Old Testament, I will define them here in Hebrew. First of all, judging from the two scriptures, even if these three words appear at the same time, they still have different meanings.
And he filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, able to do all kinds of work, to devise cunning workmanship, and to make all kinds of things out of gold, silver, and bronze. (Exodus 35:31-32)
A house is built by wisdom and established by understanding; it is filled with every good and precious possession by knowledge. (Proverbs 24:3-4)
Hokmāh (wisdom) in Hebrew refers to the knowledge and ability to make the right choice at the right time, that is, knowing when to do what needs to be done. This is key if you are to make the right choices and decisions that will affect your future.
And rbûnāh (smart) means to understand, to think rationally, to detect and distinguish the results or profits obtained from wisdom. As for da'at (knowledge), it is the ability to know and experience deeply.
This may sound like an inconsequential detail. Let us review the rise of Microsoft so that we can better understand the respective functions of wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge, and find out what to do (mission in heaven), how to do it (business model), and how to become outstanding (experience) in order to be successful in God. You are called to make an impact in the areas you govern.
When an opportunity knocks on your doorstep, how do you make a decision?
When Bill Gates, one of the founders of Microsoft, was still developing a translation of the BASIC computer language, IBM came to ask him if he would be willing to develop an operating system for the upcoming personal computer. Gates had several options at the time. The first is to say "Thank you, this is not my expertise" and introduce IBM to other companies and let them solve the problems on their own; this was also his initial reply. The second is to say "yes"; that was the answer he finally gave to IBM.
"Wisdom" told Gates: Developing a personal computer operating system is a good opportunity for him and the company. But is this an opportunity that Microsoft should pursue? "Smart" told Gates: At that time, only a few companies had operating systems, and he had already recommended the best among them to IBM. Even though IBM is an industry leader in operating systems for mainframes and microcomputers, it is unwilling to develop its own operating system for personal computers. They told Gates that even if he didn't have the knowledge and experience, few people at the time had such qualifications. Will Gates stay within the limits of current software development, or will he bravely step into an unknown but promising field?
What is needed to make this decision is "wisdom."
Once you decide to take on the challenge of developing a personal computer operating system, what's next? How to do it? Start from scratch? Gates is a software engineer with a very sharp mind. His keen mind told him: Why not buy an operating system that has been proven to work, and then modify it according to IBM's needs? This will be a smarter way to get results faster.
His rational thinking and intelligence influenced this decision; this is "smart". Wisdom is the combination of God-given wisdom and rational thinking to obtain a deeper level of wisdom; such wisdom requires the use of the mind. Generally speaking, wisdom gives the overall blueprint, while wisdom is planning the details and organizational structure to implement the blueprint provided by wisdom.
Gates had no in-depth knowledge or personal experience with personal computer operating systems at the time. So in addition to buying the existing operating system, he also hired several key figures who developed that operating system. These people provided experience and knowledge that Gates lacked. Gates knew that even if he had an operating system of his own, it would take him several years to understand the ins and outs of the system.
To become outstanding in your field, you must go beyond the classroom and gain in-depth knowledge from real-world experience. Nothing can replace the experience gained from actual trial and error.
From a business perspective alone, Microsoft's success is indeed an example of the combination of wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge.
▲ Picture source:https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/close-up-idea-concept_12975341.
Now that you’ve been inspired, what’s the next step?
Let us look at another example to distinguish the differences between wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge, and combine the three to work together.
After Paul retired from the military, through veterans' benefits, he took a course on textiles used in upholstery. He was later employed by the Air Force as a maintenance worker. During this time, he observed that these expensive aircraft required the use of high-quality fabrics such as cloth or leather, including seats, curtains, heat shields, cockpit windshield coverings, and engine air intake/exhaust vent coverings. etc. These products can only be purchased from a few suppliers and are often made inappropriately.
In order to treat his son's special health and mental condition, Paul incurred a lot of debt and needed a large amount of income to repay it and provide the child with necessary medical and educational resources. In prayer, God guided him to start his own business and become a supplier to the Air Force. God reminded him that the training he had received in the past about weaving fabrics had not yet been utilized.
God gave Paul "wisdom" from heaven to start a business to get out of debt and maintain a family life. But how does it actually work? What specific product to make? Where is it manufactured? Who is needed to assist with sales? You must know that if you want to deal with the military and sign a contract, the procedures and processes are complicated. Even if Paul has served in the Air Force, he still needs unique knowledge in this area and understands the methods.
He thought of Ender, whom he had met while serving in the Air Force. Ender was an army officer who was responsible for purchasing spare parts for large military aircraft. So Paul hired Ander because he was familiar with the difficulties faced by frontline workers and knew the problems with products from other manufacturers. Through Ander's experience, Paul understood the needs of future customers, and also knew how to find manufacturers to manufacture products that met the special requirements of the military, and gained knowledge on how to bid. Leveraging this understanding gave the startup an advantage; it was Paul's "smartness."
Although Paul had knowledge and experience working with textile fabrics, he hired Mano to dismantle the materials currently used by the Air Force and create new, better patterns and patterns. What Mano brought to Paul was the "knowledge" of producing finished products, allowing him to provide the military with high-quality, highly competitive products. Twenty years later, Paul was able to sell $9 million in products to the military every year, and the profits were enough to provide for his family's needs.
Paul’s example proves once again: Wisdom tells us what to do; understanding teaches us how to do it; knowledge enables us to actually execute it.
To be successful in your heavenly mission, you need to move forward after receiving your God-revealed call. It's really good to have discovered the big picture of the meaning of life and to know what to do. This is the wisdom needed to understand your own mission in heaven. However, figuring out how to do what you are called to do requires the use of your mind and your intellect to gain more concrete, detailed wisdom. Next, you need to add hard work and management to gain in-depth knowledge and experience, so that you can stand out from your competitors.
People often say that making decisions requires wisdom. In fact, what is really needed is wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge. The three are combined and mutually effective.
▲ Obtaining the wisdom revealed by God requires details and structure before we can take the next step.
None of the projects are suitable, what should I do?
However, in business management, the three aspects of wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge may not be in place at once. Sometimes it is necessary to obtain special revelation from God in order to know how to make these three aspects work together.
Hollo owns a service company with a good reputation in the industry, and also plans to enter the field of bidding for government contracts. Generally speaking, it is difficult for merchants to become government contract enterprises. Hollo sought my help in locating and securing government contracts through my services.
Hollo's team initially proposed ten projects that they felt qualified and interested in bidding for. After reviewing these proposals, I eliminated most of them based on my experience in the government contracting industry; I also eliminated the remaining projects based on my understanding of the client’s capabilities and experience.
While I evaluate the possibilities of the client’s project, I also seek wisdom from God to see which project is most suitable. After reviewing ten plans, none of them made my "inner witness" say: "This is it." The so-called "inner witness" is the voice in your consciousness, coming from the Holy Spirit speaking to your regenerated spirit. This is one of the ways God reveals himself to us.
I further asked Horo and the team if these were the only ten options. They said they also considered 30 other projects, but found them all unfeasible for various reasons. I asked them to show me these 30 proposals. After careful investigation, I found three that I felt confident about. One of them stood out in particular, as if the words printed on the paper were bold and bold, like rhēma, God was speaking to me personally. The so-called rhēma is a word that emphasizes and highlights. It means that when we read the Bible, a certain passage seems to be more prominent than other chapters; or when others are speaking, a special word jumps out and attracts special attention. This is also one of God’s ways of revelation.
I felt that I had received wisdom from God and knew which project to bid for.
I sat down with Hollow's team to hear the reasoning behind their decision to rule out these three proposals. One requires them to cooperate with other bidders; the other is a big deal, which will attract many companies to bid. As for the project that stood out to me, I could tell that they didn't fully understand the pros and cons, and had some concerns about my choice.
I explained to them: These concerns are understandable, but experience and knowledge tell me that this will be a good opportunity for their company - this project is big enough to make considerable profits; this project is not too big, only a few Companies will be interested in bidding.
"Wisdom" lets me know: God wants me to pursue this plan. "Smart" tells me: customers' concerns can be easily overcome. The "knowledge" accumulated through experience tells me that customers view concerns as a red light, but from my perspective, they view them as a green light. After more discussion and prayer, we settled on this project.
Before submitting the proposal, Hollow's team asked me to read the proposal to be submitted again. While reading, God showed me an omission from the client. The Holy Spirit made me realize that the price they proposed was too high; the Holy Spirit revealed to me that the number was 15% lower than what they proposed. I know very well that even if they adjust the quotation, they can still make a profit of more than 35%. What's more, getting this contract will allow Heluo's company to expand its territory and gain a foothold in the government contracting world.
They bid at the number I proposed, won the bid, and didn't have to haggle afterward. This is another example of combining wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge in the corporate world.
This example illustrates that divine revelation can make up for human deficiencies in knowledge and experience. In the next article, let’s look at how God speaks to us and the various means He uses, such as “inner witness” and rhēma, to communicate His divine revelation to us. This is the advantage of believers. It allows us to know what the heavenly mission to which we are called is, and to know when, where, how and to whom we should perform it.
What do you know about wisdom, intelligence, knowledge? Want to know more about how to combine these three in business operations? Welcome to contact me:Jeff@BusinessHisWay.biz.
Jeff Ahern, author of "Kingdom Business Success" (Chinese provisional translation), "Strategic Planning for Kingdom Business" (Chinese provisional translation), and has published many articles in journals. A former naval officer, he has provided consulting services on management and improvement of business processes to Fortune 500 companies and government departments for more than 30 years. Founded a spiritual consulting company, Business His Way (formerly Sozo Services), to assist corporate leaders in using Bible-based, Holy Spirit-guided solutions to achieve personal and corporate goals.