If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5)
And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom … And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man. (Luke 2:40, 52)
And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Luke 11:9)
The queen of the South will rise up at the judgement with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater that Solomon is here. (Luke 11:31)
I never set out to have so many scripture references at the top of today’s MTP, but when you read the whole of chapter two, then read it again and break it down, there are some crucial notes to take about this quest of living well. After all if we’re going to live for the best then we need to get the right instructions on how that works.
Now I’ve been accused in the past of that great sin of apathy – you know apathy, it’s where you lose all passion for anything. I don’t think the opposite of love is hate, I know the opposite of love is apathy.
The book of Revelations knew apathy as lukewarmness (Rev. 3:14-16). Neither one thing or the other, not just middle of the road but with no inclination one way or another. In the circumstances that the book outlines, Jesus states that he hates the condition and should it continue then there’ll be no option but to be spewed out like a nasty piece of phlegm that had been stuck in your nose for a while. And if you didn’t like that image that might be the beginning of understanding why God is not a big fan of the condition of apathy.
What does that have to do with Proverbs 2? Check the language used in the first five verses – receive, treasure, attentive, inclining, call-out, raise your voice, seek, search. I’m reading the ESV but other versions will have other similar words. What’s the point? You cannot be passive, complacent and apathetic if these words apply to you. Not only is there something about being active, there’s something about having a focus for activity and the nature of the focus is relational – calling out essentially to God to get wisdom.
Where there is that passion and that desire for wisdom more than anything else in the world the consequences are overwhelmingly beneficial. When you add to that the fact that God is only too willing to supply that which we ask for, and won’t hold back, this seems like the deal of all time! You’d wander why anyone would turn down the offer.
This gets to the heart of the issue though and back on the apathy problem. If someone was offered the ability to be discreet and avoid evil ways and dodgy dealers in all areas of life as well as avoiding the one who could lead you to death itself, that would sound like a pretty good deal. That’s because it is a pretty good deal – in fact I’d go as far as to say it’s the best deal going. Yet, the cost for that deal – a life consumed with the desire to pursue wisdom and its Source – can seem counter-intuitive. I mean someone offers financial security, physical well-being, fame, and things like that – these would be more readily obvious goals.
Yet our great example, Jesus Christ, the King Himself wasn’t focussed on financial security, fame or anything of the like. His pursuit lead others to remark on his outstanding wisdom and even when it was rejected there was always the case that it would have deadly consequences for the judgement. Jesus’ pursuit started from early in His life and led Him to handle a lot of tricky life situations in amazing ways, sometimes so unconventional, yet always seasoned with grace that even His accusers had to work overtime to stitch Him up. Yet who came out the Victor? Who rose on the third day? At whose name will every knee bow and every tongue confess to His Lordship?
So what does that suggest about what’s worth pursuing. Yet everything in the world would point towards us having a half-hearted, emotion-driven approach to something that demands so much more. So we’re left with a choice we face every day. We want to enjoy life and live it to the full, but we don’t know the way. The Way is made known to us, but it will cost us forsaking every other way put in our path. The benefits are eternal and the costs are temporary.
Commitment to that way leads us to reflect positively on some of the last thoughts of this chapter.
So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, (Pro 2:20-21)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd
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