Does true wisdom even exist?

Leviticus 24; Psalm 31; Ecclesiastes 7; 2 Timothy 3

This pandemic and personal isolation is having a wide range of effects on people. Some are enjoying it as a ‘staycation’ while others are ‘losing their minds’ in extreme impatience for ‘normal’ life to return. For them, not being able to do whatever they want to do is an extreme hardship. Some even say this is like being in jail. At least one person said it was like being in a concentration camp.

I’m not sure what others are experiencing. For me, this is more like God pushed a reset button and sent me back into another era where people were not so busy and had time to play with their children, read books, and relax with a jigsaw puzzle. I know some are terribly anxious about running out of money (and toilet paper) and others are missing human contact and hugs to the point of being deeply agitated. Certainly our reactions expose our value systems!

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon recommends that people reflect on brevity of life and its meaning. He said a house of mourning should be preferred to a house of feasting meaning that sober reflection should be preferred to levity and that sorrow is better than laughter. His point is that sober reflection can lead to moral improvement and a changed life.

His words are similar to what Moses wrote: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) Our society has long valued a self-centered hedonism and this ‘reset button’ puts me into a place where I can more easily consider what are the most important things in life. Solomon’s advice is sharp:

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. (Ecclesiastes 7:8–10)

These days, just as in Solomon’s days, the temptation is to become impatient, angry, complaining and longing for the ‘good old days’ or at least ‘normal’ whatever that might mean. Some may even be proud that they are handling this isolation rather well, yet both extremes are contrary to Solomon’s reasoning. He says:

Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? (Ecclesiastes 7:13)

Considering what is happening, and in light of my strong belief in God’s sovereignty, I tend to welcome the reset button. God is calling me, and maybe the entire human race, to think more deeply about life, why I am here and about His control of things over my human efforts to control things.

My commentary says that even though people might find fault with what God has done, no one can change what He thinks is wrong or unfair. No one can straighten what He says is crooked. Besides that, He combines adversity and prosperity so we cannot discern the future. Far better to submit to and trust His sovereignty. That is, enjoy the good times and remember in the bad times that God has inscrutable purposes beyond finite human understanding. As Solomon said, no one is wise enough to understand God’s scheme of things. His purposes are “far off and deep, very deep” yet the struggles we have are not because God is doing what He does. That responsibility is our own:

See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. (Ecclesiastes 7:29)

In trying to have life the way I want it, my scheming results in ‘going off the rails’ into a perversion of the life that God intended for me. He pressed that reset button for good reason.

APPLY: I’ve begun to ask myself each day about the stuff on my to-do list. Does it matter? Will it last? Has it any eternal value? Will it help others? Will it glorify the Lord? This is not an excuse to fail to clean the bathroom or keep my home in order but taking to heart the wisdom God gave Solomon and Moses. I’ve supposed that no one wants to waste their life but now am not sure that is true. It so easily happens, even to those of us who try so hard to not waste anything.

No complaining . . . none . . .

My daughter once said that she finally figured out what is wrong with the world: “Everybody is selfish.” Wise words for a young girl. I already knew how selfish I can be. God is working on that. Also, it is not hard to find more examples.

For instance, in our city, a young man applied for a babysitting job. The parent had already hired someone else and he was not accepted. Instead of continuing to look for work, he filed a human rights complaint that he was being discriminated against based on family status, because he had no children. He earlier filed another complaint of discrimination based on age and gender when another job was cancelled.

This complaint seems like too much focus in the wrong place. Complaining in general usually gives evidence of ‘me, myself and I’ being the center of the universe. Besides that, every time I complain it is rooted in not agreeing with the decisions and actions of the Sovereign God that I claim to worship. Really. If God is sovereign, then all that happens is under His will and permission — so who am I to bellyache about what He is doing? Today’s reading is blunt yet also gives good reason to not gripe about anything:

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. (Philippians 2:14–15)

I know a few very shiny people. One of them is the man who heads up brunch in our church. He is not young, walks with a shuffle, has thirteen stents for heart issues, was on dialysis a few months ago for kidney failure (and remarkably recovered) and has other health issues. He goes once a week to Costco to buy food and other brunch supplies, looks for bargains elsewhere (we feed several hundred people each Sunday), is responsible for giving financial reports, has a wife who leads a thriving ministry for single moms and helps her with that, and makes meals for various groups that meet in our building. This man never complains about anything. He actually glows.

I read yesterday a news clip from a celebrity that said, “Try going one whole day without criticizing someone.” It is like the above Scripture verses and prompt me: “Try and go an entire day without complaining or arguing about anything.” This is God’s challenge to me.

It goes deeper. These verses also challenge my faith. Do I really believe in God’s sovereignty? That He knows what He is doing? This is not an exercise in self-control of the mouth. It is a test of what I think about Almighty God. Can I be content and happy, no matter what happens? If I really trust Him, I should never grumble.

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Lord Jesus, this had been an emotional week. A near-death situation, constant prayer, a remarkable answer that brought recovery, some personal issues with another person that taught me much, You know all this and the rest of life’s challenges. I’ve no idea what today will bring, but I do believe that You are in charge and that I can trust You. Will that be tested today with negatives that could bring grumbling or disputing? I hope not, yet no matter what, grant me the grace to remember You — and remember to shine so that You are glorified.

Today’s thankful list . . .

God’s goodness.

Made a few goof-ups with my sewing machine and didn’t gripe.

Hearing others give thanks.

Life made easier because of a Google alarm that is easy to set.

My hubby had a good golf game on this day off work.

Angel food cake with peaches and ice cream.

Mom’s awesome attitude in adversity . . .

My mother used to say, “We must need it, or we wouldn’t be getting it.” Most of the time she was talking about things like the weather, but for her it became a philosophy of acceptance. She was not easily upset by adversity.

As a teen, I wasn’t impressed. Why didn’t mom fight back when people mistreated her? Later I realized that her faith in God no doubt was the root of her contentment. Like the Bible tells us, we are to remember that the Lord is in control and can use all the circumstances of our lives for our good, to transform us into the likeness of His Son.

This morning I reed this passage about those who are ‘unequally yoked’ — that is, a saved person married to an unsaved person. Paul gave this advice:

“If any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?” (1 Corinthians 7:12–16)

In my understanding, the key to this advice is the word ‘holy’ because it can also be translated ‘set apart for God.’ Also, key is my own experience. When my first marriage ended in divorce, I turned to the Lord and became a Christian. However, in my naivety about such things, I remarried an unbeliever. In the nine years before he became a Christian, I learned many hard lessons. I can see now that God had ‘set apart’ this man to use for His purposes in my life. My stubborn and self-willed nature needed breaking. I needed to learn things that I would never have learned if I had ran from that marriage. I needed these challenges.

God affirmed this early by immediately putting my focus on these verses . . .

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son . . . .” (Romans 8:28–29)

This echoed my mother’s mantra. I needed the “all things” that were happening to me such as God setting apart my unsaved husband and using the challenges of being unequally yoked to teach me vital lessons and change my independent spirit.

From the Bible, my mother, and challenging experiences, God taught me that His sovereign grace covers all the bases. He even used my children to teach me because He set them apart and used them for His purposes.

For this reason, He tells His people to stop trying to rule our own lives. He applies it to all situations . . .

Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. (1 Corinthians 7:17–24)

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Lord God, I’ve heard a modern version of Mom’s saying. My friends say, “It is what it is.” I notice that both can be interpreted two ways; futility and resignation to the challenges of life, OR trust in God and contentment knowing that He is in control. Mom’s wisdom and her attitude of acceptance is a choice that can only be made when my focus is on You and Your powerful goodness, remembering that no matter what is going on, You can use it for good — as long as I don’t take matters into my own hands and try to run my life myself. That didn’t work in the past, yet I always need Your grace to avoid such folly today and every day.