Wouldn't it begreat to be as wise as Solomon? How many times have you done something and thought to yourself, "Wow, was that ever dumb"? I know I have my share of those times where I've not shined like the brightest bulb in the package.
What is a grown person to do who lacks wisdom? All of us know what the apostle James had to say: "Ask God." And all of us have done that--we've asked God and here I sit (maybe you too) not a whit wiser than I was prior to my asking. So I fall back upon the second thing James had to say, "But let him ask in faith." I figure I don't have enough faith so I concentrate really hard and ask again, mustering up all the faith I can. I look in the mirror and I look as dull as ever. What's up with that? Doesn't God want to give me wisdom?
A bit on the blurry side, but this is my 59th b'day picture. How on earth did my body get so old. My brain thinks I'm 18.
Of course He does. For my 59th b'day celebration I was given an Orthodox Study Bible. What a gift! The Orthodox didn't throw out the books of the Bible the guys of the Reformation said weren't supposed to be in there and as I was looking at it I started reading the Wisdom of Solomon. It's one of those bonus books in the Bible the Orthodox get. So in it I read this:
For the beginning of wisdom is a very genuine desire for instruction. And careful attention to instruction is the love of her. Now this love is the keeping of her laws and giving heed to her law is the assurance of incourruption: And incorruption brings one near to God. So desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom (Wisdom of Solomon 6:17 - 18).
Like you, I wanted the GIFT of wisdom but here it speaks of how to get it and it begins with a desire for instruction. Instruction is pretty simple to figure out: We go to church, listen to a sermon and go home after being instructed by said sermon. WRONG. So instruction must be like when you put something together: You read the instructions and come out with a perfectly fine finished product. WRONG AGAIN. How many times have you read the instructions of the Scripture without being wisdomfied? If that hasn't made you wise, what will?
I think what we are dealing with here is something we tried back in the late 70s and early 80s--the shepherding movement. For you youngsters, that was one of the darker periods of our lives in many ways and not worth going into detail. The premise was that everyone would get a shepherd and he'd (definitely not she) tell you how to live your life: Where to work; who to date/marry and so on. You laugh. Thousands and thousands and thousands of people willingly did it all around the world. It finally exploded as most well-meaning unbiblical things do and left in its debris many who will never have anything to do with "church" again and quite a few who have just decided it isn't worth trying.
"Instruction," in the context of these verses, implies that we come under the teaching of the Church and walk in accountability to a mentor. Something else I'm figuring out is that instead of challenging every instruction, we walk it out in faith that God is working in our lives. How's that different than the shepherding thing? It works within the context of the Church--not some made up system of authority. Once you find your place in the Church, you can find the safety and security of instruction that comes from 2000 years of practice. Not 20 years from the latest split off of a split off that split from a previous split.
And where does that get you? It leads you to love of God's commandments (and ways) and that leads to "incorruption," which is another way of saying you become more and more like Christ--our goal in life. Read the verses up there in pink again. See, "incorruption." We want to live lives that aren't corrupted by the taint and stain of sin. Where else do you go? Check the last sentence: "...wisdom leads to a kingdom." I wanna go.
The Wisdom of Solomon has 19 chapters and I have been so blessed by all I read in it. I reread it, wrote down notes and am pondering and pondering and pondering. Am I wiser? Good question. I'm trying....
Jackie made the yummy coconut cake from scratch and was kind enough to not put all the candles on it that belonged there! That's Elijah, waiting to chow down. Wish you could have been here....
