First published April 15, 2024 as part of the Enjoy Life: from meaningless to meaningful series
A teenager asked his father if he could go to an unsupervised party where there would surely be drinking. He denied his request. “Aw Dad, why not?” he complained. “I’m in high school now!” Dad replied: “Because some will drink and the party could get out of control.” “But, Dad, those are just very small parts of the party! “My answer is ‘no,’ and that is my final answer. You are welcome to stay home tonight, invite some of your friends over. But you will not go to that party. End of discussion.”
The teenager walked dejectedly into the family room and slumped down on the couch. As he sulked, he was surprised to hear the sounds of his father preparing something in the kitchen. He soon recognized the wonderful aroma of brownies baking in the oven, and he thought, “Dad must be feeling guilty, and now he’s going to try to make it up to me with some fresh brownies. Maybe I can soften him up with lots of praise when he brings them out to me and persuade him to let me go to that party after all.”
The teen was not disappointed. Soon his father appeared with a plate of warm brownies. He took one. Then his father said, “Before you eat, I want to tell you something: I love you very much. That is why I’ve made these brownies from scratch with the very best ingredients. The best stone-milled flour. The best free-range eggs. The best organic pure cane sugar. Premium vanilla and the finest chocolate.” The brownies looked mouth-watering.
“There is one ingredient not normally found in brownies. I only added a tiny amount, so small you probably wouldn’t even notice. Go ahead and try one.”
“Dad, what is the mystery ingredient before I eat it?” the teen asked. Dad answered, “Why? The portion I added was so small. Just a teaspoonful. You won’t even taste it.” The teen said, “Come on, Dad; just tell me what it is.”
“Well, OK, if you insist. That secret ingredient is organic…dog poop.” The teen instantly dropped his brownie back on the plate and began inspecting his fingers with horror. “DAD! Why did you do that? You’ve tempted me by making me smell the brownies cooking for the last half hour, and now you tell me that you added dog poop! I can’t eat these!”
Dad smiled. “Why not? It’s only a tiny amount compared to everything else in the brownies.”
It won’t hurt you. It’s been cooked right along with the other ingredients and you won’t even taste it. Go ahead and eat it.” His son replied, “No, never.”
The wise dad continued, “And that is the same reason I won’t allow you to go to that party. You won’t tolerate a little dog poop in your brownies, so why should you tolerate a little immorality in your life? We pray that God will not lead us unto temptation. So how can you in good conscience entertain yourself with something that could easily get you into trouble?”
The teenager lowered his head, then looked up at his Dad. He smiled. He finally understood. He never did go to high school parties where there was drinking.
Ah, the wisdom of a father. Don’t most parents wish and hope we can provide such clever and wise examples to their children? And best of all, they listen and obey? But alas, so much wisdom dispensed, even to us, falls on deaf ears. We know better and usually think we can do better than the person trying to save us from heartache or hardship.
The Old Testament can be broken into four categories of books. The Pentateuch (the first 5 books), Israel’s history, the prophets, and then wisdom. Two entire books, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, have as their focus the topic of wisdom. It must be something God finds very important in the lives of us humans. Yet, wisdom and the enjoyment of having a life filled with it, seems so elusive to many.
We all have that family member, friend, neighbor, co-worker or acquaintance who causes us to scratch our heads each time they make yet another disastrous decision. A decision that looks a lot like the same mistake they made last time when they sloughed off good advice. Or maybe that person is…you.
Much of the wise advice we hear throughout our lives has its roots somewhere in the book of Proverbs, authored mostly by King Solomon. In Ecclesiastes 7 & 8, he goes on to remind us to seek wisdom but that wisdom, by itself, is not to be the end-goal. He should know. Having asked God to grant him the wisest mind, he eventually managed to really mess up his life pursuing all manner of fleshly desires of which his gift of wisdom afforded him by becoming a wealthy king. He became the poster boy for “do as I say, not as I do.”
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Proverb 9:10
Had he followed his own wise counsel he might have produced offspring that didn’t want to betray him or destroy the kingdom once they were in power. It’s a good lesson to learn when we dispense wisdom to our fellow, earthly travellers. As Jesus once reminded us, remove the log out of your own eye before you comment on the speck of another.
All that aside, it appears that at the end of Solomon’s life he recognized so many of his faults, sins or indiscretions. The result was his study of life in Ecclesiastes. And with that we get such wonderful pearls as:
‘For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.” Ecclesiastes 7:12
If there is one thing, after seeking Christ, that we should pursue throughout life, it is wisdom. It’s not easily gained. Often, gaining wisdom requires suffering first. Isn’t that what we so often try to impart to others? How to avoid pain, suffering, loss by taking our hard-earned advice?
“It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” Hebrews 12:7-8
Like the son in the brownie story all of us need discipline sometime in our lives. It’s the first step in wisdom seeking. The person who learns from their mistakes or experiences (or others’) gains one step closer to being wise. One step closer to living a peaceful, joy-filled life.
“None of us can come to the highest maturity without enduring the summer heat of trials.” Charles Spurgeon
“The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” Ecclesiastes 7:4
Solomon isn’t telling us in the above verse to not have a good and happy life. What he is saying is our seeking joy and happiness at all costs is a shallow goal and not wise. When our yearning for closeness to God can only be satisfied during joyful times, we miss out on the richness that tough times can bring.
Life, as we all know, isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. As he has said throughout Ecclesiastes, life is frequently about toiling and repetitiveness. Wisdom is rarely sought and found while we are whooping it up at a party.
Wisdom is found before we enter the door and remember the terrible hangover we had that last time. Or the fight you and your spouse got into because of inappropriate behavior at the neighborhood BBQ. Or even maybe the DUI your friend got when you drove home together. When we brush all that aside for a “good time,” we’ve entered into the land of folly.
Wisdom is gained by remembering. Remembering the wise words shared with you. Remembering the results of poor decisions, either by yourself or someone you know.
Wisdom isn’t just knowledge. My mother-in-law was a very wise person. She didn’t go to college, she didn’t have some big shot important job. She was a mom, a sometimes employee at dress shops and florists. She was a devoted Christian and a ready-hand at many volunteer events. She was creative and quick-witted. And she dispensed wisdom with ease. Wisdom gained from a dirt poor childhood with an alcoholic dad. From watching her brother make one bad decision after another ending up on drugs and in jail. She didn’t need self-help books to know about life, she lived it and remembered it.
“To know is not to be wise. To know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.” Charles Spurgeon
Friend, in this first look at wisdom let’s make a good evaluation of our own lives. Are we enjoying a life of wisdom or are you continuing to make the same bad decisions? Are you saying “talk to the hand” when someone who has wise words wants to impart them to you? Do you brush aside past mistakes as Solomon did thinking things will be different this time? Have you prayed, as King Solomon did, to the Lord asking for wisdom, in each and every aspect of your life?
Wisdom will keep you from the extremes, as Solomon reminds us in Ecclesiastes verse 7:9 It will preserve you, your good name Ecc 7:1, your family and other relationships. Seek first to be obedient to God and then ask Him for insight and wisdom.
I want to leave you today with a prayer that many may be familiar with written by theologian Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971), called the Serenity Prayer.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
Amen.
Enjoying A Wisdom Filled Life Part Two now available! Click here
