Sometimes it’s easy to know the wise choice. You probably know by now that a healthy breakfast of fruit, yogurt, and granola is a wiser choice than the greasy, fast-food goodness of a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit. It may pain you because you love a good breakfast from a fast-food joint, but you know that the healthy choice is the wise choice.
But what happens when the wise choice isn’t as easy to spot? Maybe you’re deciding between a few great job opportunities or figuring out the best neighborhood to raise your family. You weigh the pros and the cons of each choice and seek guidance from wise people. You even take time to pray about it. And in the end, you trust that the choice you made is best.
As parents and leaders, we’ve learned this over time. But our kids are just starting their journey of discovering wisdom, and unfortunately, our choices aren’t always cut and dry. As our kids grow up, they’ll soon learn that not every decision they’ll have to make is as clear as we might wish.
That’s why giving kids a strong foundation of wisdom is important. We want them to be equipped to face whatever choices they may encounter in the future, so we’re taking the next several weeks to talk about wisdom.
We define wisdom as finding out what you should do and doing it. It’s not simply about the difference between right and wrong, but about what is 
wise as we see life from God’s perspective. Jesus knew this first hand. The Bible says that He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
When it comes to wisdom, we want every child to grow up and say: “I can trust God no matter what.” And, because of how they trust Him they will also realize they can treat others the way they want to be treated and make wise choices regardless of the circumstances.
The principle is simply this, when a child realizes how much Jesus really loves them, what He did so they could have a relationship with God—and when that child makes a relationship with God and His words a priority in his or her life— then they will have the power and wisdom they need to live out a bigger and better story.
As kids search for wisdom throughout August, we’ll encourage them to memorize Proverbs 8:10-11, “Choose my teaching instead of silver. Choose knowledge rather than fine gold. Wisdom is worth more than rubies. Nothing you want can compare with her.”
Wisdom is valuable. We’re hoping to help kids dig deep into the Bible and discover some of God’s wisdom along the way that will help them in the years to come. After all, finding wisdom isn’t that difficult—all you have to do is look.
Week 1: We will look at 1 Kings 3:4-15 and discover one of the wisest men who ever lived—Solomon. As Solomon got ready to take on the weight of leading a nation, he had an incredible dream. God came to him and asked: “What is it that I can give you, if I could give you anything, what is it that you would choose?” And Solomon picked wisdom.
Bottom Line: If you want to be wise, ask God for wisdom. Jesus’ brother, James, reminded the early church of this in his letter. He said, “If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God for it. He will give it to you.” Wisdom comes from God, and we want our kids to know if they want wisdom, they can ask God for it.
Week 2: We will look at what happens when you listen to foolish people and take their advice. In 1 Kings 12:1-15, we’ll see what happened with one of Solomon’s sons, named Rehoboam. He was a young man who, once he got the advice of his elders, disregarded and ignored the advice and listened to his peers and friends—the consequences were devastating.
Bottom Line: If you want to be wise, hang out with wise people. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 13:20: “Walk with wise people and become wise. A companion of foolish people suffers harm.” We hope kids realize that they will become like the people they hang around with most. Choosing good friends is a great way to show wisdom.
Week 3: We will look at Proverbs 12:18 where Solomon wrote, “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Words can be powerful. With a word, we can cut people down or we can encourage them.
Bottom Line: If you want to be wise, think before you speak. Wisdom allows us to see people the way God sees them and to be careful about what we say. It’s important to remember that in every situation we should always think before we let the words come out of our mouths.
Week 4: We will look at Proverbs 22:3. “Wise people see danger and go to a safe place. But childish people keep going and suffer for it.” We don’t want children to simply think about what’s right and wrong; rather, we want them to understand what is wise. And wisdom is connected to the words given to them by a loving God, who has their best interest in mind.
Bottom Line: If you want to be wise, look before you leap. When you tiptoe closer to that line between right and wrong you end up in trouble. Instead, wisdom tells you to back away from danger and run in the opposite direction.
Week 5: We’ll wrap up our month by reminding children that wisdom not only comes from God, but is also about seeing life from God’s perspective. Jesus knew this first hand. The Bible says in Luke 2:52 that He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. We’ll dig deeper into some of the wisdom that Jesus shared with his disciples and discover how we can put it into practice.
Bottom Line: If you want to be wise, find out what Jesus said. When it comes to wisdom, we want every child to grow up and say: “I can trust God no matter what.” And, because of how they trust Him they will also realize they can treat others the way they want to be treated and make wise choices regardless of the circumstances.
