Wise Guys and Fools

Wise Guys and Fools

 

INTRODUCTION

About 12 years ago, my good friend and fellow pastor Pat Sokoll moved to Iowa City to start a new church. Pat is simply one of the wisest men I’ve ever known. He has so much insight into people and problems and the things of God, that, honestly, I found it almost annoying that he could be so RIGHT so many times. (I mean that in a very complimentary way.) When he moved, I realized that I and our church was going to miss that wisdom. So one of my prayers for some time was for wisdom. 

I thought of Solomon. King David his father died, and Solomon was now king.

1 Kings 3:3–10 ESV  "Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places…  At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.”

If the Lord told you, “Ask for whatever you want, and I’ll give it to you,” what would you ask for?

Consider what Solomon asked for.

And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father… And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child.  I do not know how to go out or come in.  8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.

Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.

Of all the things Solomon could have asked for— wealth, fame, power, long life— he asked for WISDOM. The wisdom and insight and knowledge and understanding to lead the people of God.

 

So in 2002, I felt a little bit like Solomon. New responsibilities. Challenging. How could I do it? I needed wisdom. I needed wisdom as a pastor. But I also needed more wisdom as a husband. A Dad. As a friend. And a follower of Christ. This has been a driving force for me: to better lead my family and the church. And honestly, to better lead MYSELF!! After all, if I can’t lead MYSELF, how can I lead others??

There are so many needs and issues and desires and problems, yet I realize how little I know. How can I possibly help this person or this family? And I thought of the prophets Elijah and Elijah.  Before Elijah was taken up to heaven, Elisha’s request was to have double the spirit of Elijah. I liked Elisha’s boldness and his desire to be a better man of God. That inspired me to pray. I boldly asked the Lord for double of Pat’s wisdom. Not at all to outdo Pat but simply to have more Wisdom to help more people.

I don’t know that I have double, but I know I’m wiser today than I was in 2002. For sure Pat’s still wiser and continuing his wisdom. I love that guy. But maybe I’m double where he was 12 years ago?? I don’t know.

 

WISDOM

At first, the topic sounds boring. But what if I told you the only alternative to being WISE is to be a FOOL? If you are not on the Path to Wisdom, you are on the Path to being a FOOL. Does that make a difference to you? After all, who wants to be a FOOL?

Our memory verse in the bulletin contrasts these two qualities:

Proverbs 1:7 ESV The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;  fools despise wisdom and instruction.

 

Let me give you a few scenarios to show how wisdom plays out in our lives.

Our Speech

My Mouth keeps getting me in trouble. Our mouths—our speech—gets us all into trouble. Gossip. Hurtful words. WHY do I do this? Why can’t I stop it? How do I overcome sin? What is WRONG with me? That takes wisdom.

In my life, my SPEECH is the area I have gotten into trouble as much as any other. I’ve been REPROVED for my speech more than for any other area in my life. It OFTEN has revolved around trying to be MR. FUNNY and hurting someone. I clearly remember one time many years ago. It was after church, some friends and I were in the parking lot, and I made some joke. Afterwards one older friend called me up. “Brad, I’ve noticed you have a tendency to try to be funny, but your words hurt.”

He was right. I was HUMBLED. And God woke me up. He gave me WISDOM. I determined to be different. 

I’ve needed to grow in wisdom. Wisdom to understand my desire to be the center of attention and to be LIKED. Wisdom to understand Jesus’ words, “the mouth speaks out of the OVERFLOW of the heart.” That is, what’s in my HEART is what’s going to come out. If I’m filled up with SELF, selfishness is going to come out. If I’m filled up with God’s Word and his SPIRT, that’s what’s going to come out. Wisdom to understand the GOSPEL so well that I know how to deal with the GUILT I feel over offending someone. Wisdom to be a good enough listener to know what each person’s needs are so that I say the RIGHT WORDS, not just the FUNNY words.

 

One verse I memorized:

Proverbs 12:18 ESV   “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

My words were OFTEN rash. Cutting. Damaging. I wanted and needed WORDS that bring healing. Life. All of us UNDERSTAND this our HEADS. But TRUE WISDOM understands this in the HEART, and is INCLINED to live as HEALER. I’ve been SLOW to really get this.

 

Trauma

Another area of life we need Wisdom is TRAUMA we’ve been through. In my case, one TRAUMA was my dad dying from cancer when I was 10. Your trauma might be different. But we need WISDOM to know how to sort through TRAUMA.

Wisdom to know I can’t IGNORE the pain inside. I have to DEAL with it somehow. I need Wisdom to know that IGNORING it will create Further harm to my SOUL. Wisdom to understand why there is EVIL on the earth. And insight to know from the Scriptures how God DEALS with Evil. Miss this and we’ll be FOOLS. Wisdom to understand why there is DEATH. Why did my Dad die? Why does anyone die? Wisdom to understand why this TRAUMA is creating an ANGER inside me. If I am not on a Path to understanding this, I’ll become a FOOL.

Wisdom to see how the GOSPEL relates to my PAIN. To know what Jesus has done for me can PERMEATE my soul to give me a whole new outlook on PAIN and SUFFERING, and on GUILT and SHAME. Wisdom to know God and his POWER and MERCY to be able to work all things together for good for those who love him. Like Joseph’s story in Genesis. “You intended to harm me,but God intended it for good, for the saving of many lives.”

Is God really that GOOD and STRONG and WISE and MERCIFUL? We need Wisdom to know this. Wisdom to know the Lord is watching out for us. Even in the CHAOS of life. Wisdom to understand JUSTICE. Someone HURT me, and there needs to be JUSTICE. Wisdom to know that someday, even if JUSTICE is not done on EARTH, God will bring justice someday and make all things right. If I don’t understand JUSTICE, I’m a FOOL.

And not only do we need Wisdom for our own Trauma, We need wisdom to help other people. Wisdom to draw them out and to apply the same truths and insights into their lives.  This is wisdom.

 

Parenting

Then there is Parenting. Oh my, do we need Wisdom here. I’m responsible for this child, but what in the world do I do? I’m supposed to lead my child to be a disciple of Jesus.  Where do I start?

We might say our daughter is LYING consistently. She is stubborn. Our son is defiant. Lazy. Etc. WHY? Where did they learn this? We need WISDOM to know that while we have do’s and don’ts, I have to go deeper than mere outward behavior. I have to get to the HEART. Wisdom to understand how MY EXAMPLE…good or bad…affects my child. Wisdom to know that CHILDREN are not BORN with Wisdom. They must be TAUGHT this. And I, as the parent, much be the Main teacher. I need Wisdom to know this.

Proverbs 6:20-22 ESV My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.

Folly says, “They will be fine without my instructions on God and about life." So you have to teach them, like SOLOMON is here in Proverbs. Which also means you have to be wise and godly yourself. And if we don’t have Wisdom, we had better get it!!! We PARENTS need wisdom lest we become FOOLS.

 

Wisdom Defined

A CRUCIAL element to Wisdom is godliness.  MORALITY. Having God’s wisdom means having the ability to cope with life in a God-honoring way. It’s more than just WISE TIPS on how to live a good, healthy life. Friday night I was painting in the Youth Room with three others. I was standing on the very top of the step ladder. I told them, “Wouldn’t it be FUNNY if, while standing on the top of this ladder I fell off?? That would give me a GOOD STORY to tell on Sunday a.m.”

So there’s THAT KIND of Wisdom that’s good.

But true Wisdom is Far DEEPER than that. One man said: “More than knowledge, wisdom is the right application of knowledge in moral and spiritual matters, in handling dilemmas, and in negotiating complex relationships.” Wisdom is having the Correct perspective and understanding of God and mankind and life.

Proverbs 9 describes what we need. Here wisdom is personified as a woman calling us from the highest place in town to come to her:

Proverbs 9:4–6 (ESV) “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says,“Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

Wisdom pleads, “Come to me, you who lack sense. Be a simpleton no longer. Instead, come and live. Walk in paths of insight.”

 

Another scenario where we need wisdom: Passion and purity.

Proverbs 5 ESV   My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, 2 that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. 3 For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, 4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

The wise man knows the weakness of his flesh. He FEARS God. He hates sin.So he does whatever it takes to stay far, far away from seductive women and immoral thinking. The FOOLISH man, however, lacks sense. He doesn’t fear God. He continually puts himself in positions where he is easily confronted and tempted. He’s a FOOL for doing so.

 

The Source of Wisdom

Before I go further, let me say one crucial thing. The ULTIMATE Source of wisdom is God. It’s not in merely knowing in our heads some nice, memorable expressions, even Proverbs. It INCLUDES those things, but Wisdom is founded on something—rather, SOMEONE—much greater. The Lord himself. And Wisdom is discovered in the greatest Act and greatest Person in History. The Person and the Work of the Son of God, Jesus.

Colossians 2:3 ESV “…Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

1 Corinthians 1:30 ESV  “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption…”

Jesus the Son of God is the pinnacle of God the Father's wisdom in human history. The Lord was all-wise to conceive of and implement before time even began this glorious plan of redemption. He is the source of all wisdom. In Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Wisdom is, in many ways, tied up with the practical. And what is the most practical, fundamental, important issue of life where wisdom is needed? All questions related to eternity and peace with God. We need wisdom here. 

This wisdom is found in a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. He became to us wisdom from God, and is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge. All other human wisdom is nothing compared to him. In fact, Paul says in 1 Corinthians, that all other attempts at finding God are FOOLISH. STUPID. Foolishness is simply trying to be a more MORAL person to gain God’s favor. That’s FOOLISH. 

So to find true Wisdom, it begins and ends with Jesus Christ. If you know him, you have found the SOURCE. And your heart is now prepared to receive TRUE wisdom.

We need wisdom: To help people find Jesus Christ.

We need to Understand the Fundamentals of the faith as found in the Scriptures to help people find Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:15 ESV “…from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. The Scriptures makes us wise regarding eternal salvation through faith in Jesus.

 

Do we UNDERSTAND the Scriptures and how they explain LIFE and SIN and GOD and JUDGMENT and MERCY??

Thursday Annette and I were at Mayo Clinic for a follow up appointment. (It all went well, by the way.) But at lunch in the Mayo Clinic cafeteria, we sat next to a 70-something couple from Miami, Florida. We had an engaging conversation. We discovered they were Jewish, and they discovered I was a pastor. I enjoy talking to Jews because,…as I told them…everything I believe in the NT about Jesus Christ is founded upon Abraham, Moses, and the Prophets.

We talked about current events. The conflict in Israel in Gaza. The shooting and riots in Ferguson, Missouri. The woman asked a very foundational question: “Why is there so much HATRED?”

Do we have the WISDOM answer to that? Could you tell her, “There is a fundamental problem with mankind that extends back to Genesis? And that man is basically SINFUL?” If you know that one truth, you will have WISDOM to begin solving many, many problems. You will have wisdom to help people find salvation in Jesus Christ.

 

How to Get Wisdom

I’m assuming and hoping that no one here wants to be a FOOL or remain a FOOL.That we all want Wisdom, insight. Knowledge, Discretion. Understanding. Wisdom is not received mystically, like it falls from the sky. So how do we grow in Wisdom?

Fear God and know him. 

It begins here:

Proverbs 9:10 ESV The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

To fear the Lord means to take him seriously. Not lightly. We understand his HOLINESS and MAJESTY, and we tremble. We LOVE what is good and right. We HATE what is evil and dark. You see WISDOM has a MORAL component to it. It’s not about knowing FACTS and FIGURES. It’s not about mere INTELLECT (although it involves the intellect). Many great learned men and women have scholarly insights into various fields like botany and mathematics and business, but morally and spiritually they are FOOLS. Being in a university town, we can be fooled by great learning. A brilliant PhD can be a FOOL while an uneducated man can be WISE.

Case in point: In Acts 4, the apostles were considered “uneducated, ordinary men” yet they were far wiser than the well-educated Jewish leaders who were stubborn and proud.

 

Study and know the Scriptures.

2 Timothy 3:14–15 ESV  “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

True wisdom begins and ends with the work of Jesus towards our SALVATION. This is far more than just casually reading the Bible a few minutes a day. Looking for something COOL and NEW. Something to make me feel better. You won’t gain much wisdom that way. This is about applying yourself. Studying the Bible. Thinking deeply about it. Trusting what it says. Obeying it.

 

Listen to those older and wiser.

Proverbs 13:20 ESV  “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

Older people generally will have more wisdom. Youth simply do not have as much wisdom. 

Proverbs 1:4  “…to give…knowledge and discretion to the youth.”

We are not born with wisdom, so it must be learned. Teens, no disrespect to you, but you are not as wise as you think. Your parents know more and better than you think. They are not infallible; they don’t know everything. But probably 95% of the time, they know more than you do. Listen to them lest you remain a FOOL.

College students, as much as you have opportunity, hang out with older people. Yeah, they may seem like geezers, but they have what you lack: wisdom.

Young families, you have great need for wisdom in parenting and finances and managing life’s complex challenges. Don’t go it alone. Learn from older families. Gray haired people in your family and in the church. 

A note to all parents and grandparents: It’s up to you to pass wisdom on: “Listen, my son…” (Prov 1:8). So this also makes it critical that we are wise ourselves, lest we pass on foolishness. Even those of us who are older haven’t arrived. Even if I live to be 106 like my grandmother did, I will still need more wisdom into life and the things of God. And remember, we can become OLD FOOLS.

Ecclesiastes 4:13 ESV  “Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.”