August 15, 2021 Text: Proverbs 9:1-10
Dear Friends in Christ,
On the Indonesian island of Java they like to tell the story of the young man who saw a beautiful young lady on the road and followed her for a mile. She wheeled around and demanded, “Why do you dog my footsteps?”
“Because you are the loveliest thing I have ever seen. I fell in love with you at first sight. Be mine.”
“But if you just look behind you,” said the girl, “to see my young sister, she is ten times more beautiful than I.” The cavalier young man wheeled around to see a very unattractive maiden. “What kind of mockery is this?” he demanded of the beautiful girl. “You lied to me!”
“So did you,” she replied. “If you were so madly in love with me, why did you turn around?”
Ah, the beauty of wisdom. This young lady had it and she saw through the phoniness of the young man. Do you consider yourself a wise person? I imagine that most of us do. We think we are pretty smart. We think things through. We see things for how they really are. It’s wonderful when it all comes together.
“THE BEAUTY OF WISDOM”
The world has always been populated with the wise and unwise. That is basically our text for this morning. Solomon giving some nuggets about the beauty of wisdom. Wisdom is an invitation that goes out to all people.
Because everyone thinks they are wise this is where the problems come in. When you have people telling you to do one thing because they think they are so smart but then they don’t follow their own advice, well . . . people start to see through that and we get what we have today in society. Listen to this insightful commentary by Neil Postman on Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World written in 1932 and George Orwell’s 1984 written in 1949:
“Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think. Orwell feared those who ban books. Huxley feared there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared we would be deprived of information. Huxley feared they would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Huxley remarked the civil libertarians who are on alert to oppose tyranny ‘failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions.’ In 1984, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.”
Postman then added this bit of wisdom. “In America, we are never denied the opportunity to amuse ourselves.”
This is not working well. Despair is skyrocketing. Deaths of despair – drugs, alcohol, and suicide have doubled since 2000. People we never thought would kill themselves are. And the world continues to think they are so wise.
Prayerfully we see through man’s wisdom. We understand these words of wisdom in our text, “Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you.”
None of us likes to be corrected or reproved. Come on, I’ve got it all together. Do we? Can we leave our simple ways and live? Can we walk in the way of insight? Can we see the beauty of wisdom?
We do if we see the beauty of wisdom coming from our Lord. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” It begins with our repentance. Maybe we aren’t the smartest in the room. Do we need to humble ourselves before our Creator? Don’t we run after pleasure and distraction like Huxley wrote? Then get on your knees and tell the Lord where you have failed. “Reprove a wise man and he will love you.” We take the Lord’s correction through Jesus because He knows what is best for our lives. “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.”
The Apostle Peter wrote us something quite wise in his 2nd letter. “The Lord’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted us his precious and great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
Christ has set us free. We have His promise. The beauty of His wisdom is our wisdom. May the Holy Spirit help us to use it – and live.
Amen.