"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 1:7
There is a lot of wisdom literature out there. In fact, when we look at the book of God's Words to us, we find that there is a lot which can be classified as wisdom literature in it. God seems to have a thing or two to say about what is wise when it comes to our lives in this world.
What do we do with all these wise words found in God's Word to us? Well, there are some good ways of handling these words, and some not so good ways of handling these words. It would be improper to take these words of wisdom and somehow make them into a law that God's people must uphold. We may read, for example, that it is wise to hold one's tongue rather than reveal one's foolishness. We know that it is better to let people think you are foolish than to open your mouth and prove them right!
Now, how do we connect that with our faith, and what we understand that God has done for us in Jesus? We know that we have full forgiveness in Jesus for everything sinful, wrong, and stupid that we do in this world. Yet, do we continue to open our mouths to reveal our foolishness, to continue with the example above? Well, not really. Since we have been redeemed and rescued by God in Jesus, we strive to live according to the will and design that He created for us. And that new life that He creates in us is one which strives to live according to His wisdom, as well.
We can't demand that God's people all of a sudden live wisely, and yet, we encourage and exhort one another to grow in wisdom as God's people. As we do this, we also see that it impacts how others see us. When those who do not believe in God see us acting foolishly, they may be led to think that being a Christian is a license to be foolish. That's hardly the picture we want to paint for them. We would much rather paint a picture of a people who live wisely in this world, even as we live our lives in faith in what God has done for us in Jesus.
Tomorrow, we'll flesh this out a bit more, as I realize I'm starting to get a little long-winded.
There is a lot of wisdom literature out there. In fact, when we look at the book of God's Words to us, we find that there is a lot which can be classified as wisdom literature in it. God seems to have a thing or two to say about what is wise when it comes to our lives in this world.
What do we do with all these wise words found in God's Word to us? Well, there are some good ways of handling these words, and some not so good ways of handling these words. It would be improper to take these words of wisdom and somehow make them into a law that God's people must uphold. We may read, for example, that it is wise to hold one's tongue rather than reveal one's foolishness. We know that it is better to let people think you are foolish than to open your mouth and prove them right!
Now, how do we connect that with our faith, and what we understand that God has done for us in Jesus? We know that we have full forgiveness in Jesus for everything sinful, wrong, and stupid that we do in this world. Yet, do we continue to open our mouths to reveal our foolishness, to continue with the example above? Well, not really. Since we have been redeemed and rescued by God in Jesus, we strive to live according to the will and design that He created for us. And that new life that He creates in us is one which strives to live according to His wisdom, as well.
We can't demand that God's people all of a sudden live wisely, and yet, we encourage and exhort one another to grow in wisdom as God's people. As we do this, we also see that it impacts how others see us. When those who do not believe in God see us acting foolishly, they may be led to think that being a Christian is a license to be foolish. That's hardly the picture we want to paint for them. We would much rather paint a picture of a people who live wisely in this world, even as we live our lives in faith in what God has done for us in Jesus.
Tomorrow, we'll flesh this out a bit more, as I realize I'm starting to get a little long-winded.
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