Tag: foolish

Listen to Lady Wisdom (Proverbs 9:1-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Sophia, Divine Wisdom, by Mary Plaster

Wisdom has built her house;
    she has set up its seven pillars.
She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
    she has also set her table.
She has sent out her servants, and she calls
    from the highest point of the city,
    “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
To those who have no sense she says,
    “Come, eat my food
    and drink the wine I have mixed.
Leave your simple ways and you will live;
    walk in the way of insight.”

Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults;
    whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.
Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;
    rebuke the wise and they will love you.
Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
    teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
    and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
For through wisdom your days will be many,
    and years will be added to your life.
If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
    if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer. (New International Version)

Life is full of choices. Whether we quibble about how much free will or deterministic fate a person actually has, or has not, we are still left with the ability to choose how we shall proceed and/or respond to basic life situations.

The two basic choices in life were often displayed in early film and television cartoons by having an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. The stereotypical portrayal helps us see that there is always a choice between good and evil.

Although our choices in life are quite personal and specific to a particular situation, the choice between good and evil is much bigger than this. It is choosing a certain way to look at the world, which then influences and informs the concrete decisions we make in life.

In our lesson for today, wisdom is personified as a lady calling out to us as people. In contrast, foolishness or folly is equally personified. The two ladies are continually speaking to us.

Lady Wisdom leads the community of sages who know how to live a right, just, and good life; she invites others to join her at the table and learn her ways. On the other hand, Lady Folly heads a group of simpletons who are driven by the passions of the moment; she easily attracts those who want cheap and easy solutions.

Wisdom’s message is a passionate appeal to take the path of insight through God’s revealed will. We are encouraged to leave empty-headed ways of thinking, and live with awareness, insight, and direction. The term “wisdom” in Scripture is the ability to apply sound biblical instruction and divine commands to concrete situations in our lives. 

For the spiritual person, especially, it is vital and imperative to daily listen to Lady Wisdom and follow her instructions.

The fact of the matter for too many people is that they are too impatient to let Lady Wisdom teach them her ways. It takes too much time, and is too hard for them. So, they turn to Lady Folly, who makes bogus promises of satisfaction without all the time and effort.

Idolatry (running toward other gods) immorality (running to victimize another) lying (running the mouth without any truth to it) and arrogance (running to get quick power and authority) often results from the inability to wait on the lessons that Lady Wisdom deeply desires to impart to us. 

Wisdom is not gained quickly; her teachings must be learned slowly with careful application over time. We are much too prone to wanting the simple solutions to complex problems that Lady Folly offers. But Lady Wisdom calls us to leave such simplistic thinking and take the high road of authenticity, self-awareness, and attention to the common good of all persons.

Therefore, rather than rushing to Google for answers to our questions; instead of allowing another person to make decisions for us; in place of implementing sheer pragmatic plans; allow Lady Wisdom to penetrate the mind and the heart so that what comes out is thoroughly good, benevolent, just, and helpful. 

And the best place to begin in starting down the road of wisdom is to give the Lord proper place in our lives. The skills for a good life gets its start through respect of God and obedience to the Lord. To truly have understanding and a wise life, one must get to know God. 

Nobody can talk themselves into wisdom, because it takes a reverent spirit, listening ears, and measured words to be able to put Lady Wisdom’s instruction into practice. There are no substitutes.

All-Wise God, the One who is never in a hurry and who is always holy, create in me a wise mind and a wise heart. Help me to sit still long enough for wisdom to bring spiritual growth and maturity to my life, through Jesus Christ my Lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Walk in the Way of Love (Ephesians 5:1-6)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. (New International Version)

You are loved. There may not be a lot of things I know, and much of life might be a mystery with few answers, yet the one unshakable truth I have absolutely no doubt about is that you and I are loved by a good and loving God.

Humanity is loved and is therefore meant to love one another as the ultimate rule and guide of life.

Just as God loves, so we are to do the same. We are to mimic divine love in our daily lives. The healthiest of relationships are characterized by a continual dynamic of giving love and receiving love.

Whenever love fails to be the basic rule of life, people are exposed to the gravity of God’s wrath – which exists as the extension of God’s love, in order to put a stop to unloving words and actions in the world.

Unfortunately, as a hospital chaplain and church pastor, I daily see the sad effects of individuals who have experienced a paucity of love and, so, have taken on a false self to try and find love in all the wrong places – with damaging consequences.

Three inappropriate unloving ways of acting are mentioned in today’s New Testament lesson:

  • Sexual immorality is the illegitimate attempt to get the legitimate need for erotic love met without any strings attached. It is a misguided belief that one-night stands and clandestine trysts will protect against being too committed to another and getting hurt.
  • Impurity is any other illicit, illegal, or improper kind of behavior toward others which tries to do the same thing as immorality: Seeking to meet legitimate needs in an illegitimate way – to turn a trick for love, trying to avoid emotional, spiritual, or even physical pain.
  • Greed is an insatiable pursuit of addictive behavior meant to numb or stuff all the unwanted emotions which reside deep in the soul because of engaging in the immoral or impure actions.

Three inappropriate unloving words of speaking are mentioned:

  • Obscenity is filthy speech which is a cover for the agonizing unmet needs of love deep within the human heart. Obscene words are nothing more than verbal sexual immorality. They are a twisted attempt at trying to give and get loving words in an illicit manner.
  • Foolish talk, much like impurity, is any other illicit or improper words crafted to manipulate or cajole another. It is the hustle for love. The original Greek word means literally “to talk like a moron,” that is, a person who lacks sound judgment.
  • Coarse joking is crude and addictive speech, much like greed, envy, and coveting, which verbally trolls for love without unveiling any real feelings.

The antidote to all these baseless actions and distasteful words is to realize the true self, created by God, through receiving the love of God and of others with thanksgiving. Within genuine loving relationships, people can express their legitimate needs to each other and satisfy one another. Yet, with the false self, there is secrecy, hiding, and massive amounts of shame.

Love opens us to all that is good and beautiful. Love also opens us to the possibility of devastating hurt and loss. It is when we try to obtain the good and beautiful, while trying to build walls of protection against potential pain, that we get in trouble. The sinister tools we must use to try and get that impossible job done are manipulation and control with both verbal and physical immorality.

There is no true and authentic love apart from openness and vulnerability. Cheap imitations of love will only lead to hopeless despair.

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”

C.S. Lewis

The way of love is the way of Christ. Imitating his example of a holy life, compassionate service, helpful speech, and healing actions – with a humble heart of gratitude – is to be our guide, rule, and direction in life. It is to realize our true selves and nudge the world just a bit closer back to Eden.

O Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ your Son our God, give us the love which never ceases so that our hearts will be enlightened and always burning with holy passion for the common good of all.

O Christ, our loving Savior, set our souls aflame so that they may shine brightly with the warmth and glow of unquenchable divine love, and lessen the darkness of the world. Lord Jesus, we pray, give us the light of your love so that we might always see you, desire you, look on you in love, and long after you.

Blessed Holy Spirit, send the fire of your love and empower us for loving service so that we may emulate and follow the example of our loving Lord, for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Listen (Jeremiah 42:18-22)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and wrath have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be a curse and an object of horror, a curse and an object of reproach; you will never see this place again.’

“Remnant of Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’ I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you. So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.” (New International Version)

We all find ourselves in trouble at one time or another. The real issue is whether we’re in trouble for no fault of our own, or if we’re in dire straits because of our own stubbornness and stupidity.

God tends to take a lot of flack from us humans, whenever we are in the middle of trouble. Yet, much of the time, it’s our own dang fault for not listening to God in the first place.

Whenever other people are hard-hearted and unjust, we’re ready for some divine judgment to happen. But when it’s me, all I want is some mercy and grace, some understanding and acknowledgment of my predicament. We have got to realize that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Talk can be cheap. The ancient people of Judah verbally affirmed their dedication to doing what God would tell them to do. And then, like some sort of spiritual dementia, they seemed to forget everything they said, and turned around to disobey all they heard from God.

It all came down to an issue of trust. The people looked to Egypt for their deliverance from the Babylonian army, instead of turning their faces toward God and doing exactly what the Lord wanted.

So, the Lord, an ever-present power much like the force of gravity, let the people know that if they’re going to ignore that force, they’ll end up falling and breaking their bodies.

People make mistakes. They do stupid things. And they sin against God and others. It happens. But how we respond to it all is highly important. If we don’t learn from our missteps, and choose to keep living without adjusting our lives to God’s abiding presence in the world, we can expect trouble.

A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
    The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. (Proverbs 27:12, NLT)

The ancient people of Judah had already suffered one Babylonian invasion. Now they were faced with yet another. The people wanted to flee. But their looking to Egypt was not a wise avoidance; it was an attempt to stick their heads in the sand, to put their fingers in their ears and shut tight their eyes. Instead, they needed to stay put and face the music.

The prophet Jeremiah reminded the people that, in this situation, there was a dual danger: It’s bad to go to Egypt, so don’t do it; and it’s really bad to disobey God, so listen and do what the Lord says.

Ignorance puts everyone in jeopardy. To follow through with plans that are diametrically opposed to what God has specifically said not to do, puts the entire community in the grip of a death sentence. After all, the Lord already knows what’s up and what’s going to happen if we foolishly amble into a hornet’s nest of trouble on top of trouble.

Whenever people are cursed, it’s typically because they refuse to listen; they don’t heed the warnings and end up doing something out of their anxiety, instead of acting with wisdom.

Unnecessary suffering comes from disobedience. Disobedience is a result of ignorance. And ignorance comes from purposefully not listening to sage advice, divine commands, and the wisdom of the ages.

It all comes down to giving focused attention so that we might hear and heed the voice of God. This is why the spiritual practices of solitude, silence, stillness, and contemplative and centering prayers are so very important. It puts us in a position to listen with open ears and receptive hearts.

The following are four guidelines of centering prayer, offered by one of the masters of this form, Father Thomas Keating, Intimacy with God: An Introduction to Centering Prayer:

  1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.
  2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly, and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
  3. When engaged with your thoughts, body sensations, feelings, images, and reflections, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word.
  4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

The best way to avoid unnecessary trouble, heed biblical warnings, and listen to the divine is by aspiring and dedicating oneself to a genuine spiritual life.

St. John of the Cross, a spiritual giant of a prayerful and listening life, wrote in the sixteenth century, “God spoke one word from all eternity and he spoke it in silence, and it is in silence that we hear it.”

The reason God is so often silent, is that silence is God’s first language; all other verbal languages are but poor translations. Centering ourselves in prayer is a needed preparation for the contemplation that enables us to hear and listen well to the language of God.

Perhaps if the people in Jeremiah’s day did so, they would not have found themselves in such a dire predicament.

Almighty and everlasting God, make me ready, when your voice is truly heard, so that I may respond with glad obedience glad and steady devotion, silent and still to follow every word. Speak, Lord, for I am listening. Amen.

Listen To Lady Wisdom (Proverbs 3:13-18)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Tree of Life, by Margarita Kriebitzsch, 2013

You’re blessed when you meet Lady Wisdom,
    when you make friends with Madame Insight.
She’s worth far more than money in the bank;
    her friendship is better than a big salary.
Her value exceeds all the trappings of wealth;
    nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.
With one hand she gives long life,
    with the other she confers recognition.
Her manner is beautiful,
    her life wonderfully complete.
She’s the very Tree of Life to those who embrace her.
    Hold her tight—and be blessed! (The Message)

I like it that the author chose to personify wisdom as a woman. Maybe that’s because I have a wife and three daughters. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that they, along with most of the women in my life, seem to have an almost mysterious quality of insight and understanding which transcends my very cerebral and logical approaches to life.

What I’m trying to say is that wisdom isn’t measured with a one-dimensional test of a person’s mental reasoning powers, but also requires emotional intelligence, social intelligence, interpersonal and relational intelligence, and spiritual intelligence, just to name a few.

And Lady Wisdom has it all. She’s the perfect combination of all the intelligent factors which make for a complete, fulfilling, and good life.

Everyone desires a good life. Nobody wakes up in the morning, sits on the edge of the bed, and thinks to themselves, “I really hope to have a bad day today!” A person might get up on the wrong side of the bed and grump their way through the first hours of the day, but no one makes a conscious decision to deliberately have a disappointing life. 

Indeed, we all want a good life. Students go to school hoping to have a good experience. Marriages begin with the hope of having a good life together. New employees start with the wish that there will be satisfaction in doing a job well done. Parents dream of their kids growing up to have a good life. 

We want the kind of life that brings contentment, joy, and happiness. So, how does it come?

A good life comes through embracing Lady Wisdom. And she has always been there, as the very Tree of Life:

“I was there when God set the heavens in place,
    when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
when he established the clouds above
    and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
when he gave the sea its boundary
    so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
    Then I was constantly at his side.” (Proverbs 8:27-30, NIV)

A good life has a basic respect and honor for God at the heart of it. Lady Wisdom understands this, first hand. She knows we are prone to being afraid. So, she assures us that the pursuit of true wisdom is worth it. With Lady Wisdom at our side, we have calm and confidence; we know when to take risks and when to be patient.

Most of all, our insecurities and anxieties begin to melt away as we connect with the image of God within us. Trust bubbles up from the depths of our soul, and we are no longer afraid of the unknown and what may happen to us.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 9:10, NIV

The fear of the Lord means to honor and obey God, to be loyal and submissive. We know there is a good God from which our own good lives derive.

In a state of trust, of calm and confidence, we are able to listen and hear Lady Wisdom’s sage instruction. So, if you want to live a good life – and not just survive but thrive – then we must adopt a posture of listening.

The prerequisite to any semblance of a good life is to have a teachable spirit, to give focused attention to Wisdom. A fool is a fool, first and foremost, because he does not listen. Instead, he is negative, complains, and spews advice based in partial information.

But the person who hugs Lady Wisdom and does not let go, has learned to be attentive to the voice of God.

Continual fear of people is a death-dealing practice. But the person who fears God by listening to wise counsel discovers a life-giving practice that will serve them well for a lifetime. 

The teachable spirit bends the ear to hear good advice. Such a wise spirit inclines toward acquiring knowledge and learning the skillset needed to live a spiritually abundant life.

For the Christian, therefore, we cannot learn if do not read. The Bible is a book. If the Bible was a car, I would tell us all to learn to be mechanics; if it were a fish or a deer, I would tell us all to learn the best ways to hunt and fish; or if it was a store, I would encourage us to learn about being good shoppers and consumers. 

Yet, the Bible is a book. So, we must read it, memorize it, meditate on it, and learn from it. Becoming familiar with the contents of Holy Scripture, and immersing ourselves in it’s wisdom, will mold us in the ways of humility and form us spiritually for a lifetime of peace, love, and joy. 

Maybe you aren’t a tree hugger. But I encourage you to become one. Embracing Lady Wisdom is the surest way to avoiding unnecessary problems and finding purpose in life. Indeed, because she is good, we become good.

Today, God of Wisdom, let me experience your good and gracious heart. Draw me into your very being, into the core of your love for me, others, and the world. Give me a glimpse of others from your good, right, and just perspective, in loving them, forgiving them, and delighting in the way they give glory to God through their very existence. Help me to discern out of that place of deep affection for humanity, that I, too, might be a useful conduit of your love in the world. Amen.