About the Beginning of Wisdom Substack
Welcome to the Beginning of Wisdom Substack. My name’s Wade Bearden. I’m a writer, entrepreneur, and teaching pastor at my church in Conroe, TX. I’ve published two books on faith and doubt—Failing Faith and To My Friend Who Left the Faith. My work has also been featured on Christ and Pop Culture, Christianity Today, and RELEVANT. I hold a master’s degree in theological studies, but I love learning about almost anything. I spend most of my free time hanging out with my family, reading a good book, or training for another triathlon. I’m also a big Georgia Bulldog and Houston Astros fan (don’t hate me).
The Beginning of Wisdom Project
Once, God visited a man in a dream and asked him a question. “What do you want?” he said. “Anything. I will give it to you.” The man thought for a moment and then rattled off a response. Surprisingly, this response delighted—dare I say, impressed—God. What an answer. He could have asked for anything. Yet, he asked for the very thing God wanted him to ask for.
Can you imagine, impressing God? Don’t you want to know what this man’s answer was? This answer that moved God’s heart?
What would you do to discover that answer? How many rocks would you turn over to find the answer that impressed God? And after finding that answer, what would you do to obtain that request? Would you get up early every morning to devote yourself to it? Would you work at it in between picking up the kids from school or during your lunch break?
What was that man’s answer?
Wisdom.
He wanted to be wise.
This story comes from the ancient Hebrew scriptures (1 Kings 3 and 2 Chronicles 1, to be exact). The man in question, King Solomon, didn’t ask for a long life, wealth, or victory over his enemies. He wanted to make wise choices. Which, if you think about it, is the opposite of what we often ask God for. If we are honest with ourselves, we usually spend most of our time, energy, and prayers on money, physical comfort, and our desire to be better than those around us.
But, what if we pursued Wisdom above all these other things? Would it please God and, as a result, offer us a good life only wisdom can bring?
The Beginning of Wisdom project looks to discover the answer to these questions. It’s about me trying to figure out the nooks and crannies of the search for Wisdom and how to live that Wisdom out. I’ll be sharing with you what I find, as well as releasing excerpts from my new book The Beginning of Wisdom (coming in 2025).
Join me as I pursue Wisdom through old books, new books, people, places, and, of course, the ancient faith of the Bible.
Join the search
Right now, this Substack is free. If you like what you read, you can always show your love by supporting me each month. And/or, you can buy my books. Purchase them below:
