Wisdom Teeth - 6/07/2017

An Arkie's Faith column from the June 7, 2017, issue of The Mena Star.

A customer stopped by my business to get an appointment for replacing his windshield. He said he was taking care of some things because he had taken the day from work. He spoke with a slur and looked a bit rugged. I asked him what had happened to him, and he replied that he had had wisdom teeth pulled that morning. I told him that I could empathize with him because I had gone through the same thing.

A few years ago, I had a very painful toothache for several weeks. I finally made an appointment and went to the dentist. After taking x-rays, my dentist told me that second molar on the lower left was in bad shape. One of the reasons that it had deteriorated was because it was up against my wisdom tooth. He recommended that I have both teeth pulled. I was in a lot of pain, so he made time to pull the teeth the very next day.

Having the teeth pulled was quite an ordeal. The wisdom tooth was laying sideways, and the root had a hook that was in the bone. The procedure wasn't that painful, but the pulling, pushing, cutting, tugging and prying made it very uncomfortable. When the anesthetic wore off, I was in a lot of pain.

While I was at home nursing a very sore mouth, I started wondering why the third molars are called wisdom teeth. I found out that they are called wisdom teeth because they usually come in when a person is between the ages of 17 and 21. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term wisdom tooth is used because they appear so late – much later than the other teeth, at an age where people are presumably "wiser" than as a child when the other teeth come in. Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars, and come in when a person is old enough to have supposedly gained some "wisdom."

Sometimes these teeth can be a valuable asset to the mouth when healthy and properly aligned, but more often they are misaligned and cause trouble. Wisdom teeth have been known to cause dental issues for centuries. In the 4th century BC, Aristotle wrote about wisdom teeth “causing great pain in their coming.”

I found the explanation of the term "wisdom teeth" to be somewhat amusing. 17 to 21-year-olds aren't the first age group that I think of when I think of wisdom. Wisdom comes with experience. The Oxford English Dictionary definition of wisdom is " the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment.”

Often we aren't sure of the difference between wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. There is some overlapping of the definitions. Wisdom is knowledge with understanding. Anyone can get knowledge, but understanding is another thing. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:13 (NIRV), "Blessed is the one who finds wisdom. Blessed is the one who gains understanding.”

Intelligence or knowledge or even understanding isn’t necessarily wisdom. Wisdom is using knowledge, understanding, and intelligence in a common sense way, making choices that are beneficial and productive. You can get knowledge out of a textbook, but not wisdom. Experience is valuable in gaining wisdom.

I crave knowledge. I am curious about so many different things and want to learn about them. It is interesting to me to see all the different "facts" that you can find on a given topic. Sorting through the "facts" can make understanding an almost impossible task. But according to the Bible, there is a way to obtain wisdom.

In Proverbs 9:10 (CEV) we read, “Respect and obey the Lord! This is the beginning of wisdom. To have understanding, you must know the Holy God. True wisdom comes from God.” According to a quote that has been attributed to Cicero, a Roman statesman and philosopher, “the function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil." Cicero is widely considered to be one of Rome's greatest orators. I think he had a good grasp on the meaning of wisdom. Wisdom begins with reverence for God, and respect for Him and His Word, The Bible. Where there is no respect of God, there can never be any true wisdom. Earthly knowledge isn’t the same as the wisdom that comes from God.

1 Corinthians 1:19-20 (NLT) tells us "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent. So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.”

Gentle Reader, I want to make sure that in my quest for knowledge, I look to God for understanding and wisdom. He has promised to give us wisdom if we ask for it. James 1:5 (NKJV) tells us that, “if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Won’t you ask God for wisdom today – and every day? He has promised to give it to you.