Stopping to Think - Issue #20
Thank You, the Beginning of Wisdom, and Jesus in a Muumuus
First, Thank You
This edition of the newsletter is going to be a preview. "A preview of what?", you may ask. A preview of how I want to thank those who have supported this newsletter financially. When I first sent out an email letting folks know I was starting this, I tried to be very clear that I wasn't asking anyone to pay, I'm just thankful anyone wants to read my various ramblings.
However, I've been very surprised/amazed/grateful that a number of you have generously chosen to support the newsletter monthly. With absolutely nothing in it for you! Well, until now.
As a way of saying "thanks" for your support, my intention from here on out is to send out the normal newsletter every other week, and then in the off weeks to send out a more devotional/Scripture-study focused newsletter for subscribers only. A taste of what that will look like is the content of this week's newsletter, where I'll begin working my way through the book of Proverbs. Not exhaustively, but I'll touch on something from each chapter.
So again, thanks to everyone for reading and sending encouragement and feedback. And an especially big thanks to those of you who've chosen to support financially. I'm truly grateful.
Where Wisdom Starts
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 1:7 (CSB)
Back to the Beginning
In the opening verses of the book of Proverbs the author is setting a scene. First we're introduced to the primary (though not only) author of this collection - King Solomon. Proverbs, by their very nature, are a form of literature intended to impart wisdom, to force you to pause and mull, to, if you will, stop to think. To open the book by announcing this collection of proverbial sayings, this bunching of wisdom in one place, was authored by Solomon is to draw on his credibility as the wisest of all men (1 Kings 3:12). It as if to say, "listen up! Here's how to acquire some measure of the wisdom the Lord has given to me."
The intended audience of these sayings, and in particular the early chapters, are the young (v4). Why would this be? Well, as the saying goes, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Of course that is an overstatement and examples can be brought forward to contradict it, but the fact remains that patterns established in youth will be continued and even cemented as we age. This very reality is addressed by Solomon in Ecclesiastes 12. Heed the voice of the Lord while the heeding is good. Before you're too old and life is too miserable to listen.
There are also words here which encourage those who don't feel wise. To meditate on the words herein can solve that felt deficiency. Verse four tells us that Proverbs "Teach shrewdness to the inexperienced" and "knowledge and discretion to the young man." Here is one of the things I find most encouraging about the word of God - if you feel too foolish to understand, yet faithfully and diligently spend time with the word, the Lord in his kindness will use the word to impart the very wisdom you need in order to understand (Psalm 19:7).
A Necessary Condition
But that statement assumes something - that you are dependent upon the Lord of the word. That you come, not marshalling your own brilliance, education, or insight (though these may at times be genuinely useful). But to read the Bible and hear from God you must first acknowledge that you need to hear from God. You must first come fearing the Lord. Why is the fear of the Lord the beginning of knowledge, or as it says in Proverbs 9:10, the beginning of wisdom? It's a matter of authority.
Quite often, our difficulties in understanding God's word come not from any lack of literary background or historical knowledge (though again, these things can prove useful), but because we are spiritually and morally opposed to the truth contained in God's word. That is, we encounter something which is offensive to us, or confusing to our sensibilities, or contradicts what we have thought of as right or wrong. If our own sense of things is the final arbiter of truth, if we are the highest authority, then we will disregard those sections of God's word which don't fit into our already-present paradigms. However, if we begin with a fear of the Lord which sees that he is Lord in heaven, and we are creatures on earth, then we have the basis needed to get off of our feet and down on our knees before the Lord, and to receive his wisdom. We can learn from him when we know our place.
The early church writer Augustine put it in these terms,
"With a mild and gentle piety you should refrain from objecting to passages of the holy Scriptures which you do not yet understand and which seem to the uninstructed devoid of sense and self-contradictory. And you should not try to impose your ideas on the meaning of the holy books but submit and hold your mind in check rather than savagely attack its hidden meaning." (Letter 171A, quoted in CSB Ancient Faith Study Bible).
Which, put in 21st century English, means this: assume God and his word are right. If something seems wrong or confusing, assume you're the one who needs brought into line or illumined. Fear him, understand your place, and you're on the path to wisdom. Fearing the Lord is the starting line.
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Stopping to Think: "Jesus in a Muumuus," with Mike Moffitt on Apple Podcasts — podcasts.apple.com In this somewhat rollicking conversation with Pastor Mike Moffitt, we talk about all sorts of things - including what the church would look like if we were all the same. Check out Mike's podcast, "Bible Jazz," which is a ministry of the church where he serves. Theme music by HoliznaCC0, "Bohemian…