new glossary

PTTP - post thirty tummy pat. applicable to males only.

Some thoughts on wisdom

Hey, hey, is our DG blog turning into a barely disguised pitch for NYT or what? :)

I have time, I'm on holiday, so I decided to get away from the cut-and-paste for a while.

The upcoming church camp is on the book of Proverbs and a cursory read of the book will tell you it has a lot to do with the subject of "wisdom".

The first 9 books, in particular, keep trumping the benefits of "wisdom" as opposed to "folly", and parallels are drawn repeatedly between that and another pair of opposites, "adultery" vs. "discipline" (and yes, "discipline" is invoked instead of the more obvious "fidelity").

Wisdom is likened to a woman trying to make herself heard (1:20). Wisdom will save you from the adulteress (2:16).

Indeed Wisdom sounds like a great wife rather than the chor-lor Folly who "sits at the door of her house ... calling out to those who pass by" to simpletons and "those who lack judgement" (9:13-18).

Proverbs ends with an epilogue, "The Wife of Noble Character". Perhaps Proverbs is really God's thinly-disguised manual for men on How To Choose A Wife And To Stick With Her? Guys, take note :)

Of course, there are other aspects to godly wisdom we are to mark. Proverbs 6:16-19, for example, tells us "there are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him", among them, "haughty eyes" (don't be dao), "hands that shed innocent blood", "a heart that devises wicked schemes" and "a man who stirs up dissension among brothers".

I suppose, reflecting on what God is trying to tell us about wisdom, it really is a very dynamic, active and living thing. Wisdom is not just something cerebral, intellectual and all-in-our-heads, but is born out in lived experience and how we hold ourselves in relation to other people.

Wisdom is discipline. Wisdom is humility before God and accepting that He knows waay more. Wisdom is staying true to the woman you married. Wisdom is about, to paraphrase 4:20-27, guarding one's heart, putting away perversity from your mouth and keeping your eyes straight ahead.

All very specific yet simple instructions. Not rocket science. Manna for the soul of those who think themselves into knots and find themselves unable to move forward.

Other gems:

• "Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old." (23:22) Ouch, just as I caught myself rolling my eyes at my mum wiping my mobile phone for germs...
• "Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that build your house." (24:27) Do one thing at a time, finish it before going on to the next, get your harvest before building your nest.
• And my favourite: "An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips." (24:26)

The past three months for me have been a time of feeling closer to God, mainly through praying with my prayer partner and best bud in Beijing and really seeing God working and coming through in our lives.

Am looking forward to church camp for a good dose of God's word in terms of systematic preaching and teaching, something that has been missing for a while.