Principles of wisdom - "Choices"

Proverbs 9:1-3 “Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city,”

Psalm 119:1-9 “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart— they do no wrong but follow his ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast  in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your com-mands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.”

    Charlie Brown's sister, Sally, approached her brother and declared, "I think I've discovered the secret to life--you just hang around until you get used to it."

    A gentleman once wrote Marilyn Savant with a question about life. Ms. Savant is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records Hall of Fame for highest IQ, and has a regular column in Parade. This particular inquirer said his life was "more exhausting than he ever imagined" and wanted to know, "Is this normal?" Marilyn gave him the following analogy about life. She said, "Much of the time, life is like going through the airport steering a loaded luggage cart with one bad wheel. Sometimes you just feel ridiculous, sometimes you actually look ridiculous, and sometimes all you can do is just try to push it in generally the right direction." (Parade, Oct. 12, 1997, p. 8)

    While there is some truth in both of those statements, surely there has to be more to life than just hanging around trying to get used to it, or just trying to "push it" in the right direction. The entire Bible is really about one thing in life – choices.

    There are two calls in life; there are two choices in life; and there are two consequences in life. First, there is a call of wisdom - Her house is away from the path of normal human activity. Proverbs 9:3 says that she has to “send her servants to call people to come.” She seeks them where they live and invites them to come to her place for a better life. What is "wisdom"? Wisdom is not intelligence! Nor is wisdom a high IQ…It is the best use of knowledge. Biblical wisdom is knowing, understanding and living out the Word of God.  

Psalm 119:1-9 gives us some of the things required to live life according to God’s Word:

* “Walk according to the law of the Lord”

* “Keep His statues”

* “Seek Him with all your heart and walk in His ways”

* “Obey His decrees”

* “Live according to His Word”

    There is also a call of folly.  Folly also has a house. But, it is built where the fools are already living, Proverbs 9:14-16 -  “She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way, “Let all who are simple come to my house!” This makes it far more convenient. This implies that men may enter the house of folly with little or no change in their lives. To get to wisdom, they have to put forth effort, to get to folly, they can continue as they are, where they are. They can just hang around until they get used to it!   Folly is presented as a prostitute. She promises the fool a good time, which is the enticement to evil. This is why there are more people who live lives of sin than there are who live lives of righteousness! People, like water and electricity, almost always choose the path of least resistance. They do what comes naturally and they gravitate toward evil. Ephesians 2:1-3 - “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.”

    These two calls; whether from Satan or the world; lead to two choices in life. The ultimate choice lies with the individual. Even Jesus presented life as consisting of only two choices, Matthew 7:13-14 - “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction.” One leads to life as it was meant to be, the other to destruction. Think about this in light of all areas of life; There is a narrow road and a wide road as it concerns relationships; finances; spirituality; and so on…one leads to wisdom, one leads to folly.

Next week we will look at the two contrasts and the consequences.

    Let’s make some personal applications to your life from last weeks blog... Too many of us waste our time looking for a “clean barn.” We want a job that gives us fulfillment, we want a marriage that is constant romance and bliss, we want children that never make a mess, or parents that always give us what we want. But let me tell you, the “clean barn” is a myth. All families have problems. All jobs are unpleasant sometimes. Life is messy! Instead of longing for the clean barn we need to look for ways to fill the barn we’ve been given.

    Have you read  Erma Bombeck’s book: “The grass is greener over the septic tank”? That’s really true. (I used to live in a place with septic lines. You could always tell where they were by the line of taller, greener grass over the septic line.) The point is a productive life is a messy life. You might even have to resort to accepting something that is a bit smelly and messy --- like an ox --- in order to really make progress in life.

    Maybe we should all make a resolution to be thankful for our messy tasks – the car that needs an oil change, the dishes than need to be washed, the diapers that need to be changed. Every messy job you have to do this week proves one thing. It proves you’re alive and well, and living on planet earth. Matthew 24:46-47 tells us “It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth; he will put him in charge of all his possessions.” Part of watching for the return of Christ means completing the tasks --- big and small, clean and messy --- that the Lord has given us to do. That is the good servant, who will be ready when the Master returns.

    I think the barn of Proverbs 14:4 can also be a symbol of the church. It’s human nature to want the church to be a constant “sanctuary” --- a place of peace, tranquility, and beauty. We want the services to be smooth and perfect. We want the facilities to be attractive and spotless. We want the people to talk in quiet voices and always get along. But that’s just not the way it is in a living and active congregation. Nor is it what God intends. The only way to have a neat, spic-n-span, tranquil, church is to have an empty church. Because PEOPLE (have you noticed) are MESSY.

    PEOPLE are the church’s business --- because PEOPLE are God’s business. Jesus died so that PEOPLE could have a relationship with Him. Messy, loud, troublesome, PEOPLE. So as God’s servants, we enter into the people business --- a business that is sometimes messy, and loud, and frustrating, unnerving, unpredictable, and did I say frustrating? We need patience, long-suffering staying power, a good sense of humor, tons of grace and forgiveness, the ability to like the unlikable, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance --- and the Agape love of Jesus; And who knows, maybe even an ox or two.

Part 8 – Principles of wisdom.

Proverbs 14:4 – “Where no Oxen are the Barn is Clean.” To those who serve the church – especially in the capacity of pastor – this scripture says serving God will not be easy, neat, and tidy. “Where no oxen are, the barn is clean, but much increase is by the strength of the ox.”

    This is an obscure verse I’d never noticed before. But the message is an interesting one. Basically, what we see in the Proverb is a tension between the desire for a clean barn and the need for a “filled” barn. I’ve noticed, through the years, that certain tensions are always a part of church life. The tension between being inclusive or exclusive is one example. Are we more like a rescue station or a country club? There’s the tension between “inreach” and “outreach.” How much effort should we put into discipleship and how much into evangelism? Should we focus on getting closer to each other in our “holy huddle” or on bringing in new people? What about the tension between teaching the word of God and the importance of social outreach? In all these cases, both are needed. The secret is to find a BALANCE that includes both.

    Proverbs 14:4 illustrates the tension between keeping the church organized and tidy and keeping the church full and growing. If you want a sweet-smelling, picturesque little show-place of a barn, you’d better not put any oxen in there! On the other hand, if you want a FULL barn, you’ll get some oxen. And you’re going to have to put up with the mess they’re going to make. Clean barns are nice looking. But if you think about it, the purpose of a barn is not to be CLEAN, but to be FILLED. The best time of the year for the farmer is at the end of harvest time when the barns are full of grain. For a farmer, that’s their payday!

    So what does that have to do with the Ox? Well, when Proverbs was written, the ox was the farmer’s tractor. He plowed with it, he watered his crops with it, he harvested with it, he ground his flour with it. The more oxen, the more product-ivity! But on the other hand, the ox was also a source of trouble to the farmer. The ox had to be fed daily, and it took a lot of feed to satisfy the appetite of the working ox. The ox had to be sheltered from the wet and cold in order to stay healthy. He had to be penned in so he didn’t wander off and get into trouble. He had to be doctored when sick or injured; and oh, the smelly mess found in the ox stall!
    Do you see the tension here? Dealing with an ox is worth all the trouble if you care about filling the barn. But if what you care about is a clean barn, then by all means, don’t take care of the ones you have and for heaven’s sake don’t bring in any more oxen.

    What is the  symbolism of the Ox? It’s interesting to notice that the ox has special significance in scripture. For one thing, the ox is used as an example of what it means to be a servant. An ox was not especially beautiful or entertaining. In fact, he was awkward and smelly. But an ox was always useful. He pulled the plow to prepare the soil for crops. He pulled the carts to transport the produce. He was used to grind grain into flour. He was used in drawing large amounts of water from the well. Basically, he was used for anything too hard for a human to do.
    In the book of I Corinthians, Paul twice uses the ox as a symbol for the preaching ministers. (I Cor. 5:18 & 9:9) Paul says those who preach the gospel are worthy of their hire and not to be muzzled --- like the ox who treads out grain and is allowed to eat some of it in the process. (Naturally, the Ox is not the symbol I might tend to choose to illustrate the preacher. An ox is not the brightest creature on earth, but maybe that’s part of the point Paul was making!)

    Well, anyway, the ox always represents power, and productivity. Our proverb reminds us “much increase is by the strength of the ox.” The ox was the ancient equivalent to the tractor, or the pickup truck, the bull-dozer, the wench, and the electric motor, all wrapped up in one package. And,  if that wasn’t enough in itself, the ox also represents liquid capital. A healthy ox can always be sold for a good profit. Most important of all, the ox is used as a symbol of a savior. In the Old Testament oxen were used in sacrifices as peace and sin offerings.

    There’s an interesting example of this in Judges 6:25-28. Gideon was told to take his father’s oxen and do two things: He was to use them to break down his father’s altar to Baal, and he was to sacrifice them on a new altar, to atone for his father’s sin. So Gideon used oxen as heavy machinery to remove idols, and then used them as sacrifices to save his own father from God’s wrath. In this way, the Ox represents two things Christ did for us on Calvary. He broke the bonds of sin and death, and he made atonement for our sin. The ox is used to do things humans can’t do by themselves. In a similar way, Jesus accomplished something no human can do. He paid the price for sin with his redemptive work on the cross.
    Second, there is the symbolism of the Barn. While we are dealing with the symbol of the ox, we might also want to pay attention to the symbol of the barn. The Proverb reminds us “Where no oxen are, the barn is clean.” (Some versions say “crib” or “manger.) If you take the barn as a symbol of life, the tension is between aesthetics and productivity. Repeating the question, “Would you rather have your barn clean or filled? Knowing what the purpose of a barn is, --- namely --- to store a big harvest, the answer should be obvious.

Principles of wisdom. Part 7

  "Guard your heart"

Proverbs 4:4 says – “Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live…Verses 20-23 – “My son pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words; do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart for it is a wellspring of life!” 

    In other words, the “heart” guides the outcome of one’s life, or it determines the course of your life. Where your heart is, the rest follows! Your life will follow the desires and the passions of your heart. The heart must be made new by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. If the heart is not changed, neither is the man. (Ezekiel 36:26 -27 – “I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit within you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh…”

    John Flavel very wisely observed that “The greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God; and the greatest difficulty after conversion is to keep the heart with God!”

    Christianity affects the heart. It is not a system of moral conduct. Salvation is the work of God in a person’s heart. It is the conviction of sin, it is repentance, it is faith, and it is worship; all of which are works of the heart.

    J. Stowell in “Fan The Flame” said “Heart is used in scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person. It is the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide. It is the comprehensive term for a person as a whole; his feelings, desires, passions, thoughts, understanding and will.” The heart is the place to which God turns, and scripture tells us it is the place God sees our true self. “Man looks on the outside, but God sees the heart!” Before anyone can “keep his heart” in a manner that will please God, there must be a reconstruction of the heart!

    How does a worm get inside an apple? Scientists have discovered that the worm comes from the inside. An insect lays an egg in the apple blossom, and sometime later the worm hatches inside the apple and eats its way out. Sin – like the worm – begins in the heart and works its way out through a person’s thoughts, words, and actions. (Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony and slander.”)

    If in God’s Word we need to be reminded about guarding our heart, then it is possible that at times our hearts are “unguarded” and that would bring us problems. This would mean that our hearts are open to attack. The unguarded heart would allow all sorts of disruptive, useless, and harmful stuff to corrupt our lives, and compromise our decision making.

    The world tries to tackle the problem of the heart in a number of ways; Psychology, and psychiatry try to change the heart through drugs and human manipulation that will do no good. Some try social reformation by changing the environment, which only transfers the problem; it’s like rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship!  Some say the problem is ignorance and the solution is education and enlightening peoples understanding, but it only makes for “smarter criminals” as the police would say. While all of these may or may not be important, unless the heart is changed, they are of no use.

    The Holy Spirit must come in with sovereign life giving power to create a new heart in Christ Jesus, and through the new birth - we become new creations. “Above all else, guard your heart” – Is it God’s job?  (No) It is our responsibility to “keep” or “guard” our heart…”above all else!”  It is more important than church attendance; more than tithing; more than serving; more than _______ you fill in the blank. (Why?) Because the heart guides and determines the course of our life!

Again, where your heart is, the rest follows! Your life will follow the desires and the passions of your heart. The heart must be made new by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit…If the heart is not changed, neither is the man.