The Wise Bracket

The clock is ticking and I don’t know about you, but I haven’t filled out my NCAA Tournament bracket yet. As I look back on previous seasons, I realize that too many years I've tried to get “cute” with my bracket by picking upsets and teams I like rather than teams that are better. Since college basketball overlaps with the NFL season, I don’t watch very many games before March begins. So, here I am staring at an empty bracket, wondering who to pick. If I make choices based on my limited knowledge of teams like Iona or Fresno State or rely solely on insight from the games I did watch this year, then I’ll be completely guessing who will win most of the matchups. The games are unpredictable, and unbelievable things will happen over the next few weeks, but there are still many wise analysts (sorry Charles Barkley, I love you, but I’m not talking about you) who have a much better grasp of each team, players, and stats. Analysts like Jay Bilas or Clark Kellogg won’t predict every game right, but they at least will make decisions and offer advice based on a much deeper understanding of college basketball. When it comes to our own crazy and unpredictable lives, we face decisions every day. We should want to make wise choices rooted in our faith as it says in Proverbs 9:10 – “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.” God also uses people with wisdom, experience, and a great understanding of certain topics and life scenarios who have the ability to offer valuable insight if we listen or seek it out. The Bible says in Proverbs 12:15, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” Similarly, Proverbs 11:14 (ESV) states, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” So today, in the same way, we should probably listen to the knowledge Jay Bilas shares regarding college basketball, let’s also be aware of opportunities to receive Biblical wisdom from trustworthy people. When it comes to our careers, marriage, parenting, and most importantly our pursuit of following Jesus, let’s be wise. Let’s stop taking the risk of filling out our “brackets in life” based on our own limited understanding, and take advantage of the wisdom of others. I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that! PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that wisdom apart from You is foolish, but I thank You for allowing me to pursue wisdom that flows from Your Word. Please help me to receive wisdom from reliable counselors, mentors, and advisers that You’ve placed in my life, instead of trying to figure everything out on my own. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.