Have you had a Chicago style deep dish pizza? My family’s favorite is Lou Malnati’s, and it is on the menu every time we have out-of-town guests. No one has ever been disappointed. (Very full, but not disappointed.)
How do boring old flour, olive oil, yeast, garlic, tomatoes, spices, sausage and cheese combine into a magnificent deep dish pizza?
My husband and I make a pretty mean deep dish pizza ourselves. To do so, we start with individual ingredients. My local grocery store stocks over 700 varieties of produce and aisles full of meats, and canned, packaged, wrapped and frozen food helpfully labeled and priced. That’s information.
As a shopper and a cook, I know the identity, the taste, and (usually) the relative quality of many items in a supermarket. And I have a good recipe. That’s knowledge.
Starting with a basic recipe, my husband has tinkered over the years to adjust ingredients, find the right proportions, and perfect techniques. That’s understanding.
Finally, the application of information, knowledge and understanding to creatively prepare a tasty, attractive and nutritious entrée requires wisdom. In this illustration pizza is wisdom.
Absorbing bytes of information without the wisdom to correctly and creatively apply them is like buying ingredients for a pizza and then serving them separately: a pile of flour, a can of tomatoes and a dish of shredded cheese.
Taking a bite of a pizza is far more satisfying.
Where, with access to unlimited information, is knowledge?
Where, in all of our education and knowledge, is understanding?
And where will we find wisdom?
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10
Thank you for visiting Connecting Dots to God. My name is Judy, and I write this blog because making connections to God is simply what I do. I can’t help it. I am eternally grateful that He has made a connection with me. 
Wonderful analogy. And Lou’s is my favorite pizza too!
Wow! Judy, I’m so glad I checked out your latest post. I’m currently teaching a class at my church that involves exploring the creativity of God. We are learning how creating a piece of art is similar to how God molds us. I’m also encouraging the women in my class to discover each of their unique creative gifts such as drawing, sculpting, gardening, cooking, etc. I love your blog entry! Very creative!!
The message that we are all inherently creative, since we bear the Creator’s image, is so beautiful, encouraging, and needed. We forget. May The Lord bless your teaching, and I’m encouraged to know that you found this post creative! Thanks Danielle!
Lou Malnati’s = BEST pizza that I’ve ever eaten out!
Great minds think alike, Rosy:)
I love the way you showed us about wisdom from this! Just so good! It really helps that it has pizza involved too. 🙂 God bless you!
I haven’t eaten Lou Malnati’s pizza, but I’ve had my share of Uno in the past. Very filling, but also great. Thanks for the memories.
I am now Starving!! If I ever get to visit your home turf, there’d better be pizza waiting for me!! Now I’ll go back and read the wisdom part–I got totally sidetracked by my taste buds… God bless you big–love, sis Caddo
Deal! Just say the word Caddo!
I should have asked if you share your pizza recipe–and whether it’s really hard to make???
very good analogy!
I love the association! Three of my favorite things, God’s word, my sister’s insight and PIZZA! I think an added bonus would be to share that updated recipe!!!! (lips are smacking’ out here in the dessert where we have no Lou Malnati’s!)
Pizza love to you, Jan!
Love love this analogy and your insights. And of course, I love Lou Malnati’s. I remember a party at your home years ago where different teams put together different pizzas and we all shared afterword. So it’s important to know when you’re in the presence of wisdom in fellowship, or a group competing to be the smartest guy in the room. Wisdom is harder to come by than knowledge. Thanks for putting it in such simple, understandable terms. That’s wisdom:)
So true Ruthie. The collective wisdom in community is so much better (and more fun:) than trying to be the smartest guy in the room. In my experience the smartest guy in the room is rarely the wisest. Thanks for your thoughts!
Judy, what a creative way to illustrate a very important distinction between the two…:)
Thanks you Lori!