The Saturday Stoke #40
Listen to The Stoke
"Whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear or harm." (Proverbs 1:33, ESV)
Theologians say the earth was formed from wisdom, from the logos or Word of God. There is in everything we see and hear and taste and experience, the wisdom of God. In the Scriptures, King Solomon urges us to seek the wisdom of God—this life-giving, life-sustaining wisdom.
Wisdom should be a daily pursuit for us. And I don’t mean a pursuit in which we range about on the internet looking for information. The world fills up daily with more information than we can ever hope to know. And much of it comes from suspect sources and will do little to feed your soul.
The wisdom we should pursue, writes Solomon, begins with the fear of God.
“But Tim,” you say, “what does this ‘fear of God’ mean for us? Am I suppose to walk around in my house afraid of God? Is he some distant deity throwing thunderbolts at us humans? Is this the fear King Solomon is speaking of? I mean, why would I want to pursue such a God?”
“Ah yes,” I reply. “This idea of the fear of God can sound a bit odd for us in the modern world. But the idea of fearing God means that we should respect and honor God in reverence and awe. This is also the heart of worship. Such worship cultivates intimacy with the Almighty and we grow in him and in his wisdom.”
We find this same idea of the fear of God strewn all about the Scriptures: several times in the book of Proverbs (9:10; 15:33) and in the Psalms (110:10) and the book of Job (28:28)
The pursuit of wisdom looks like cultivating your relationship with God.
I used to think wisdom was life's secret sauce, and that only the really smart people were wise. I also used to buy into the false notion that wisdom is attained only through experience; we try, we fail, we wise-up.
I still think wisdom is life's secret sauce, but that other stuff? Well, it’s complete rubbish. Wisdom is available to all who pursue and ask for it. Because wisdom is God himself. In fact, for the ancient peoples, the proverbs were often taught early in life, in schools, and in the home. The saucey tangy-ness of wisdom is there for us all, young and old alike, so let's go after it.
Here’s a quick hack for attaining some of this tangy-ness:
Seek practical know-how, chase virtue and live in obedience.
Know-how (1:2 - “… to know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight.”
In Proverbs chapter 1 verse 2, Wisdom means practical and clever—like good ole fashioned "know-how." Why are we reading Proverbs? To gain know-how, practical knowledge of life so we can navigate it better. The word "discipline" reminds us that getting wisdom requires surrender, rigour, and persistence.
The wise live life like Michael Jordan practiced basketball: with daily tenacity. They're given to the task of "getting wisdom."
In our instant world of blogs, news feeds, and tweets, we perhaps read more, but comprehend less. Proverbs help us gain "understanding," which requires a certain level of depth. We must analyze, dig deep, read between the lines, spend time reflecting on the Proverbs in order to "get wisdom."
Virtue (1:3 - “ …to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity …”)
Prudence marks the wise. The practical person must also be a moral person. In the Proverbs the word "fool" can carry a moral element. A fool is morally deficient; someone who doesn't have a moral compass—they're prone to evil. The wise, on the other hand, are morally submitted to The Way of God.
Obedience (1:4 - “ … to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth.”
When we give knowledge and discretion to the young, we impart our own knowledge of God to them. Knowledge here refers less to our "personal experience" with God and more to our obedience to God. We can't teach virtuous know-how to the young unless we ourselves live in obedience to God, to his ways, his ethics, his desires.
Let's model wisdom rather than foolishness to our kids. Put another way, let's model a fair and practical way of life, one that chases after God, submits to God's desires, one that never stops growing, one that sees room for growth, rather than a life marked by the morally questionable, the morally lost. One that does not accept or live by the information overload in the world.
Use the discernment and wisdom given to you by God. Fear him and walk the line of virtue.
And remember, stay stoked my friends.
