Thursday, June 8

THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2017

Today's passages highlighted the supreme value of wisdom:  first through King Solomon and then through the early disciples, particularly those selected to serve as deacons.

As a younger person, I often associated wisdom with stodginess, and I doubted the value of experience.  After all, what couldn't the facile mind pick up through a short burst of study?  Did the adage that "experience is the best teacher" really hold true?  After all, wouldn't knowledge and technological advancement free us from outdated thinking?

Human (or conventional) wisdom does hold significant value, and, yes, it does come through experiencing the ups and downs of life.  In many cases, there is indeed no substitute for experience.  God has shown me through day-to-day experience that knowledge may tell us facts ("what," "when," or "who"), but it doesn't lead to discerning motivations and the real "how" and "why" of our lives.

But we must recognize that, as with everything good, God is the ultimate Source of wisdom.  He has promised to give wisdom to whomever would ask for it (James 1:5), and His Holy Spirit, in addition to leading us into all truth (John 16), speaks wisdom into our lives through His residence in the believer ("indwelling").

Our world has an over abundance of knowledge and a dearth of wisdom.  With the digitization of many industries, we now collect petabytes of data daily.  Researchers have developed tremendous advances in medicine and other technologies.  Yet, there are still people enslaved throughout the world; many children go hungry each night; and, perhaps especially in wealthy societies, there is a great deal of depression and joylessness.  The imbalance of knowledge and wisdom, I believe, helps to explain this contrast.

May we seek wisdom together, for the glory of God.  Wisdom empowers us to serve our Father well and to see things from His perspective.  It helps us to step into another's shoes, to understand their heart motivations, and to work towards constructive solutions.  It takes a long-term view and doesn't shy away from hard work.  It encourage us to use our scarce resources to bless others, rather than wasting them or hoarding them for ourselves.

As the Church, we have the great pleasure of receiving knowledge from God and sharing its fruits with a hungry world.  May our hearts overflow with wisdom so that we will engage with those who are desperately seeking it.  May we treasure God's Word and store it in our hearts.  May we be filled with the Holy Spirit, the Source of wisdom and guidance.  May we wisely give all thanks to the One Who has always loved us.

Lord God, thank You for giving us the blessing of Your wisdom.  We are in desperate need of it in our world today.  May You use us to be a conduit of grace and wisdom in our relationships.  Help us to see things from Your perspective and to live wisely for the long-term.  Thank You for the examples of Solomon and these early disciples.  May we remember You and honor You today.  In Jesus's Name, amen.