Wish You Were Smarter?

In her article “Why Smart People Make Bad Moves,” Yahoo! Financial columnist Laura Rowley examines a recent study from Ohio State University on the relationship between a person’s IQ and his or her financial situation. She summarizes the study this way: “Smart people can be boneheads when it comes to accumulating wealth, and the average Joe can become the millionaire next door.”

According to the study each point increase in IQ test scores raised income by between $234 and $616 per year. But this didn’t protect higher IQ people from financial woes. In fact, higher IQ people had just as high, if not higher rates of late bills, maxed-out credit cards, and even bankruptcies. The bottom line: Just because you’re smart doesn’t mean you’re smart in using your smartness.

I guess that’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom. God spoke that in Scripture a long time ago: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (I Corinthians 1:25). A question comes to my mind. Solomon was the wisest man ever and he was very wealthy too. Wonder what his IQ was?

According to Rowley, here are some reasons why your average next-door neighbor might be a millionaire while you sit in your living room paying off your maxed-out Visa bill.

They Make Their Own Rules: Rowley quotes Loral Langemeier, author of The Millionaire Maker: “Many wealthy people didn’t do well in school; it was too structured for them. But they’re creative, intuitive, and have street smarts——they understand how things work, and how to get business done.”

They Get Knocked Down, But They Get Up Again:’ “It’s hustle,” says real estate magnate Barbara Corcoran in Rowley’s article. “Hustle is being too stupid to know that you should lay low when you keep getting slammed.”

They Succeed Through Social Intelligence: Another characteristic of average people who become millionaires is that they surround themselves with teams that compensate for their weaknesses.

They Take More Risks and, Consequently, Reap More Rewards: People with average brains may be more naive and willing to jump in——start a business or make an investment——than their high-IQ counterparts, who ponder every angle and know too much about the potential downsides of a proposition to take a risk. Highly intelligent people are many times more adverse to risk.

So if you’re reading this today thinking about how smart you are…… get over yourself. It really doesn’t qualify you to do better things than your “sub-genius” friends.

And, if you’re reading this today wishing you werea bit smarter…… be encouraged that there are many things other than your IQ and training that figure into a successful, fruit-‘producing lives. The bottom line is that God is in charge. And being in charge He has put into the mix the laws of sowing and reaping. Just good old farmer’s common sense. What ever you plant... that is what you will get. You will get more than you plant back and the more you plant to more you harvest. You have to be patient after you plant because it takes a while for the seed to grow. They work for anyone no matter what their IQ is. God honors faith and faithfulness in our lives.

Galatians 6:7 “...a man reaps what he sow.” 2 Corinthians 9:6 “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for today’s opportunities. Give me the real wisdom to know what to do in every situation that will bring honor to Your name and blessing to my life. I trust You to know what is best so give me ears to hear Your voice above the noise in the world I work and live in. AMEN.

Blessings!
Pastor Roger