I’m learning a lot more from the Old Testament than I thought I would (thanks be to God!). If you couldn’t already tell, I’m currently making my way through the book of Job. I skimmed the book in Mexico but I’ve spent the last few days actually reading each line. If I’m still inclined tomorrow, my next post will be more about the overall themes of Job and a paraphrase I’ve made of the 42-chapter book to get its main ideas across. Today, however, I feel inclined to talk about wisdom. Are you willing to entertain the idea that perhaps you might not be wise? Many of us spend our lives learning things, becoming experts in one or more areas. As we grow older, we believe that through experience we have gained wisdom and understanding. We look at those younger than us and sympathize with their lack of knowledge as we believe we were once in their place, but have since grown and learned. But is this where wisdom is found? Do all who grow old become wise? “I thought, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.’ But it is the Spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding. It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right.” Job 32:7-9 So how can someone become wise? According to Elihu (the one quoted speaking above from the book of Job), it is the Spirit who gives us understanding. True wisdom is not something we earn or gain with experience. It is prayed into us. It is a gift from above, and it cannot be sought out. “There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined…People assault the flinty rock with their hands and lay bare the roots of the mountains. They tunnel through the rock; their eyes see all its treasures. They search the sources of the rivers and bring hidden things to light. But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living...Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky.” Job 28:1, 9-13, 20-21 Gold is a treasure of the earth. Humans can search for it (though it is well hidden), find it, and understand the worth of the treasure they have just discovered. Wisdom, the most valuable of all treasures on earth, is not found in a similar way. Humans throughout the centuries have come up with many words to prove their own wisdom. Think of the wisest humans you’ve heard of and you’ll probably have people like Aristotle and Socrates on that list—philosophers who spent their lives talking and thinking and searching for answers. I’m not going to venture so far as to say that those people were not wise, but I will be so bold as to say that the majority of the US today is not. If many of us really were wise, the entire country would look much different. But what does wisdom look like? “And [God] said to the human race, ‘The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.’” Job 28:28 Back on the topic of fear again. Do you tremble at the Word of God? When you read the very words that came from the mouth of Jesus, are you terrified? Think of the things that Jesus told us we need to do. Think of the challenges He posed to believers. Read the Gospels and I can guarantee you won’t look at your own life and say, “Alright, cool, I’m good. I’ve got it right.” I struggle a lot with this. I don’t fear God as much as I’d like to and, according to the Bible, that means I am not wise. This is something I agonize over in prayer, that He would grant me this fear. Consider this of yourself. You, the reader, may be so inclined to ask (as I have also wondered), “Do I need to be wise?” Is wisdom necessary? Fearing the Lord is so difficult. Surely it isn’t required of us and we can simply live our lives loving Him instead of fearing Him rather than approaching Him with both. I don’t have an answer to this question, but I do have a counter-question: If you really claim to know God, as in you’ve spent time in His Word and in prayer, seeking Him out earnestly with your whole heart, how could you not fear Him? Read Isaiah 6 or Revelation (or both). Imagine that God. That’s the God you’re talking to. How can you not fear that God if you know that He is the one you’re talking to? Yes, that God loves you. He pursues you and there is nothing you can do to be separated from His love for you. But He is not a big puppy. He is a wrathful, just, powerful, holy God who sends those who waste their lives in rebellion of Him to hell. Do you fear that God? It’s almost an insult not to, especially since He tells us to fear Him. Whether or not you care about being wise, perhaps you should care about if you are giving God what He is owed. “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commands, for this is the duty of all mankind.” Ecclesiastes 12:13
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AuthorFighting complacency and advocating change in myself for the world around me. Posts by Date
February 2019
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