Readings for today: Proverbs 21-24
Life is full of decisions and the outcome of a person’s life is largely based on those decisions. Yes, there is much beyond our control. Yes, there are things that happen that we cannot plan for or anticipate. Yes, time and chance happen to us all. But there is also a lot that is within our control. The little decisions we make every single day stack up over time. They shape us in profound ways and make us who we are. When we look in the mirror in the morning, we have to accept responsibility for the person staring back at us. That person is a product of the choices we’ve made along the way. This is one of the many lessons we learn from the Book of Proverbs.
“Incline your ear and listen to the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my instruction. For it is pleasing if you keep these sayings within you, and they are ready on your lips. So that your confidence may be in the Lord, I am making them known to you today - even you.” (Proverbs 22:17-19 NET) God wants us to be wise because He knows the kind of people we become when we walk in wisdom. And how does God define wisdom? Fearing the Lord. Loving righteousness. Advocating for justice. Giving generously. Loving others. Acts of kindness. Demonstrating restraint. Self-discipline. Holding onto hope. All these things are hallmarks of wisdom. They are the kind of qualities that mark a person who would be wise. And if we walk in wisdom, we make God’s heart glad. “My child, if your heart is wise, then my heart also will be glad; my soul will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.” (Proverbs 23:15-16 NET)
So why don’t we do these things? What is it about us that eschews such wisdom? Why do we cling to folly? One would think humanity would have learned wisdom over the years. One would assume each generation would pass down their wisdom to the next. Tragically, we only seem to pass down our worst impulses. After tens of thousands of years on this planet, the human race still struggles with greed, lust, selfishness, injustice, oppression, drunkenness, gluttony, deceit, and violence. It’s why our world still feels so unstable. We cannot seem to get out of our own way.
Wisdom is the only way forward. “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; by knowledge its rooms are filled with all kinds of precious and pleasing treasures.” (Proverbs 24:3-4 NET) The world stands in desperate need of repair and God sends us - followers of Jesus Christ, made wise by His Spirit - out into the world to bring healing and hope. May we walk in wisdom and draw others along this same path.
Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 5-6, 2 Chronicles 2-3