Thoughts on Wisdom & Judgment
I've been on a wisdom kick recently.
** Note for non-LDS readers. The LDS church has something called "callings" which are basically church assignments that you receive in your local congregation. They're all unpaid and some are super simple and some are really demanding of time. **
I got called into the Bishopric in the midst of a lot of work happenings (really busy growing day job at Boostly + buying into another business) and I cared a LOT about those succeeding. I won't belabor the point but my wife has narcolepsy and one of the ways we can mitigate the severe challenges that come from that is through money and hiring things out.
Anyway when I was called I came upon the scripture about Solomon asking for judgment and then God giving him riches and power because he didn't ask.
So I've been trying to seek judgment and wisdom. Based on the Solomon example my definition of wisdom is the ability to see the truth as quickly as possible.
So when a problem arises I keep trying to say:
- What truth are we after
- What's the fastest way to get to it
- More broadly: what's going on here?
To ask, "what's going on here?" is to simply describe what is happening right now. For example when talking to someone are you really problem solving or does the other person just need to be heard? Is the other person puffing themselves up for some reason? Or are you? What are the actual dynamics at play?
I imagine King Solomon, when the two mothers came to him, did this. "What's going on here?" One mother is sincere and the other is lying for some reason. "What truth do I want?" Who actually cares about the kid? "What's the fastest way to get to the truth?" See which one cares if the child dies.