2 Chronicles 1:7-12
The Seven Virtues #1 - Wisdom
By James Galbraith
Make a wish
Last week I opened my sermon with a joke about a man who finds a lantern on a beach. He rubs it and out comes a genie, ready to grant him a wish.
I’m not going to repeat the whole joke, but I’ve brought it up because I’d like to think for a minute about what we would ask for if we were put in that situation.
If we were granted one wish, what would it be for?
I’m sure some of us would use our wish for the betterment of mankind, and ask for a cure for cancer, world peace, the alleviation of world hunger or any number of other beneficial things.
I’m also sure that we would be tempted to use our wish for personal gain, and ask riches, or fame or beauty or strength or intelligence.
Perhaps, if we were crafty enough, we would word our swish in such a way that we could accomplish both,
"I would like to have a hundred million dollars so that I could fund research into curing the common cold…"
What would you wish for?
One king in the Bible was given this opportunity that we all, at some point, have dreamed about.
King Solomon asks for wisdom
Solomon, son of King David, has just succeeded his father as King. The succession has not been smooth - his older brother Adonijah tried to claim the throne, even while David was still alive.
King David quickly makes Solomon King, and has those loyal to him out together a huge parade into Jerusalem to announce the real successor to throne. Those loyal to Adonijah run away when they find out, and Solomon manages to bring the rebellion to a quiet end, with Adonijah promising to honor him as King.
Adonijah, however, finds another way to try and take the Kingdom from Solomon, and this time he and those loyal to him find themselves killed or released from their duties.
Now that Solomon has a firm hold on the Kingdom, he sets out to be a King who strives to honor God. He stages an event in which all the important leaders of Israel are brought together, and a huge sacrifice of one thousand animals is made.
We don’t know what was said by Solomon at this gathering, but we do know that it must have honored God, because later that night God comes to Solomon in a dream and makes this promise,
"Ask for whatever you want me to give you"
And what does Solomon ask for?
"Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?"
In making this wish, Solomon pleases God, and ends up receiving wisdom beyond anyone before or after him.
I’d like to spend our time together answering three questions that come out of this encounter -
1. What is this wisdom that he asks for?,
2. Why does Solomon ask for wisdom and why does his request please God so?
3, How can I get me some of that?!
1. What wisdom is, and what it isn’t.
One of the best descriptions I’ve heard for wisdom is simply the ability to choose the right path.
NOT mystical -
Wisdom is not some mystical, vague intuition that comes from thin air or tea leaves or the position of the stars - it is a very real, very practical sense of what to do, how to do it and most importantly - why we are doing it.
Not common sense -
Nor is it what we may call "common sense", because many times the wise person will not choose to do what everyone else might commonly consider the right thing to do.
Common sense, for all it’s strength’s, has one vital weakness - it is nothing more than doing what most people do most of the time. It is what we - as a people - think is right, and not necessarily what God thinks is right.
It was once "common sense" to scorn children born out wedlock, for example. Many children grew up with the label "bastard" - as if the child had done anything wrong by coming into this world.
Wisdom, on the other hand, starts with taking God seriously, and that is why the Bible says over and over again - Proverbs 9:10
10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
We find this fundamental principle in the Psalms, the Book of Job, Proverbs, and in the writings of the prophets Isaiah and Micah.
One who is wise respects - even fears - God, simply because of the shear magnitude of who he is!
Not mere data -
And it is certainly not the accumulation of data or the recital of facts or even the ability to use such information. We hear so much about the ability of the computer to process information, but have you ever heard of a computer that is wise?
Equating wisdom with data is like saying a man is a good fisherman because his house is full of fishing gear. I can testify that a man can have all the gear he will ever need to catch fish, and still come home empty handed. That’s personal experience!
not even "intelligence" -
It takes intelligence to process information well and use it, but even that is not wisdom. For you can go up to the smartest person in the world who is doing ht hardest work imaginable, and ask him why? and the only thing he replies with is "Because I can" - and trust me "because I can" is the farthest thing from wisdom.
"Because I can" is the buzz word of the technological era - we do things because we can. It places us at the absolute center of the universe, and I believe it is at the core of every evil impulse and desire.
wisdom -
When I think of someone who is wise, I think of someone with has that uncommon ability to look forward to what may happen, to look back on what has happened, and then make the best decision for the present based on what is happening right in the here and now.
Look at how Solomon demonstrates wisdom when the two young mothers come to him, arguing over their rights to a young baby.
Both women have had a child recently, but one child died in it’s sleep. The mother switches her dead baby for the live one while the other mom sleeps, and both women end up in front of the king, pleading their case.
King Solomon orders the baby to be divided in two, so that the both women can have half a baby! Not exactly the politically correct answer to the problem, but it is one that triggers the real mother to give up her claim, so that the baby may live.
In triggering this response, Solomon is able to discern who the real mother is, and allow her to go home with her child.
There is nothing vague or airy-fairy about his solution, nor is it anything remotely close to what we would call "common sense", it is tangible, even brutal, and, as the Scriptures tell us - wise.
So, wisdom is the ability to choose the right path. The right thing to do at the right time, for the right reasons, and with the right result. That’s not a complete answer to what wisdom is, but is enough for us to work with.
Our next question is why does Solomon ask for it - wisdom, that is.
Why does Solomon ask for it?
Why indeed. If we were given this kind of blank cheque form God, what would we fill it in with?
I’ll tell you - money is a pretty tempting option. A few million would settle a lot of my worries!
And Kings definitely need wealth to maintain their Kingdoms - if they wanted armies and roads and palaces they had to find a way to fund them, and you could only raise so much from the people by taxes before you basically shut down you country’s economy.
Power would be another good bet - for with power you can try to do whatever you want whenever you want to do it - and is that not what the people expects a King to do?
Either money or power would have been great assets for Solomon as King - in fact most kings spent their reigns using one to get the other, and desperately clutching to whatever they managed to acquire.
And so do we, to some degree. We’re not tyrants hoarding fortunes, but we spend much of our lives accumulating certain things so that we can attain some measure of control over our lives. It boils down to money and power - just on a smaller scale.
But Solomon shows an ability to see past this - at least at this moment in his life - and he asks God to give him wisdom, so that as King he may make the right decisions that will both honor God and help the people.
He asks for wisdom because he want to serve God and others, and not just himself. He is a position where his decision will affect many millions of people - and he shows his true heart by asking for help to do the right thing.
And God is so pleased with his request that he grants is, and then gives him everything else he could have asked for and didn’t!
He is pleased because Solomon’s request is unselfish - it is putting the needs of others first by asking for help to lead the people well.
It is also a humble response - Solomon is admitting that he is not able to do this on his own.
These are two attitudes which always help us when we are dealing with God - an unselfish heart and a humble spirit. They are attitudes which we should try to reflect in our own lives.
3. How can I get wisdom?
Do we need wisdom the same way Solomon did? I think the answer to this is a resounding yes!
We don’t make decisions which will affect millions, but we do choose a path which will affect those who are important to us - our children, our spouses, our extended families, our friends.
Depending on our life circumstances, our paths also come in contact with co-workers, customers, clients, patients, pupils, neighbours, and many more.
Wisdom is what guides us through the myriad array of possibilities and leads us to make the choose which best fits the circumstance, and believe me - it is something we can all use more of!
So how do we go about becoming wise, or attaining wisdom?
I’ll tell you one thing - we don’t buy it, find it or make it. It is not a commodity to be exchanged, a solution to be mixed or a riddle to be solved.
We’ve already covered the most important part - taking God seriously. "The fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom - without it we are simply on the wrong path.
We can also ask God, trusting that he will deliver! James 1:5-8 tells us very clearly that -
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Now, without being facetious, I can say with all confidence that we all lack wisdom enough that we should all be asking for it!
But like the verse says - we have to ask confidently - and not out of the corner of our mouths. God doesn’t want to play games with us - he wants us to be straight with him. If we need it - ask for it.
And then what? Well, what happened to Solomon after he asked? He was put into situations where wisdom was required, and he made wise choices.
I think that’s what we can expect, too. We’re not going to see our "wis-o-meters" climb up a point or two everytime we ask for wisdom, but we will be given opportunities to use what God has promised he will give.
Our choices may not become any easier - but I believe that they will become better.
When we set out to honor God in the path we choose on a daily basis, we will grow I wisdom.
There’s one last passage on wisdom I want to read today
James 3:13-18
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
This passage is telling us that as we grow in wisdom we will grow in other things to. When true wisdom in our lives, we treat others better, we seek peace in our relationships, we will treat others fairly.
If, however, we profess to be wise but treat others poorly, place ourselves in the middle of the universe seek to have what is not ours, then wisdom is far from us.
Wisdom cannot be sought for wisdom’s sake - it grows out of a life given over to the God who gives it.
CONCLUSION
As we go home today, let us strive to be people who seek to be wise.
Not wise for our own sake, or in our own strength, because neither of these attitudes leads to real wisdom at all.
Rather, let us strive to see wisdom take root within us as we walk down the path placed before us.
We all walk some path, and we all need help in walking it.
To make the right choice on that path we first need to give our lives over to God,
but wise in that we are giving our lives over to God, and allowing him to guide us in our decision making a
