Wisdom & Walking

SCRIPTURE: For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds. Matthew 11:18-19 NIV

QUOTE: “Wisdom has more to do with becoming skillful in honoring our parents and raising our children, handling our money and conducting our sexual lives, going to work and exercising leadership, using words well and treating friends kindly, eating and drinking healthily, cultivating emotions within ourselves and attitudes toward others that make for peace. Threaded through all these activities is the insistence that the way we think of and respond to God is the most practical thing we do.” Eugene Peterson, Introduction to Proverbs

THOUGHT: Mental gymnastics are really easy. I can spring over the sawhorse, fly between the parallel bars, and do a cartwheel on the balance beam with such ease in my mind. But that’s only the first step to making it reality. It’s an important step, but it isn’t going to win any competitions.

Wisdom is like that. Part of it becoming “real,” or useful is that we take it out of our minds and hearts, put shoes on it, and start walking it out. As Jesus put it, “wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

Sadly I often find that walking it out rarely resembles the glorious vision I have in my mind. I stumble, fumble, fall, and sometimes retreat to my head space where things look better. I talk a good game, but it breaks down in various ways when I do things that Peterson might say don’t “make for peace.” I get angry. I eat too much. I’m sullen. I don’t exercise. I buy when I should save. I talk about God while I ignore spending time with him. You get the picture…likely because you have your own to stare at. We are imperfect. Like a gymnast going for the gold, only to win the silver the bronze, or go home empty-handed, we have to remember that getting better requires us to try again.

At least part of what Jesus was saying here is that others can see one little slice of our lives and make a judgement that we are this way or that way. God sees the big picture. He knows where we’re coming from and where we’re going, mentally and physically. “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar,” says the Psalmist (139:2).

We’re on a journey, seeking with our hearts and minds, but also using our physical strength, walking out what we’ve seen and studied and heard from the mouth of God. In the end, wisdom will be proven by our track record, not by a snapshot.

PRAYER: Oh God, help us love you with all our heart, soul, mind, and physical strength, walking out wisdom as we love neighbor and self.