The Paradox of Wisdom
(Job 28:12-13, 20-28)
Tuesday night, it was cold, rainy
and windy. Candy and I were on campus at
the symphony. Walking across campus, bundled
in coats, we saw many of the high quality students, students bright enough to
be admitted into the celebrated University of North Carolina, and they were walking
around in this nasty weather in tee
shirts and shorts. We thought they
were crazy.
We had a good laugh at the insanity
of it. Later though, I thought back on the
evening and I had to admit my own stupid, foolish acts. Sure, I was wise enough to wear a warm
coat. But before leaving the house, I
argued with my son, and I was as irrationally angry as he was. He was bull-headed and I matched him. Only I am 42 and supposedly mature – mature
enough to know better. I was as a big a
fool as anyone that night.
Humans are fools and our folly is
most easily seen when it is time to elect a president.
Some fear that decadence and immorality are on
the rise in our society. But, there was
just as much decadence and hedonism in ancient Rome as today. I have heard doomsday scenarios regarding our
economy. But, I have friends who have
studied this in depth and they tell me not to fear the current recession. They say the economy has always been cyclical
and successful times will always be followed by cycles of recession. People see the state of the world and fear we
are in the “last days” and final judgment is upon us. Actually would that bad, if it means the
return of Christ? Good or bad, Jesus
said not to speculate or worry about such things.
None of this bothers me, but I am worried
and unhappy about the polarizing condition of politics. I voted early. I tried to joke a bit with the partisans
handing out voter guides. It’s been so
vicious, this campaign, I thought some levity might help. They couldn’t laugh. They agreed if I critiqued the other party, but
got defensive when I teased theirs. I
was joking but they could not laugh. They
could not see how in politics we refuse to look at our own views critically and
we are totally illogical in how we demonize our rival’s views.
If I were to say a single good thing
about either Romney or Obama, it would erase all else I could say this
morning. Half would get mad at me for
liking who you hate. Half of you would
automatically be happy because you’d take the one nice thing I said as an
endorsement of “your guy.” In politics
there is no space for balanced, reasoned discussion.
I began voting for president in 1988, George
Bush v. Michael Dukakis. This is my 7th
opportunity to vote for president. Every
single time, it is ugly. Every
presidential election brings out the worst in us. I don’t see any improvement. It feels like it is getting worse.
Is this what God wants? Some of the ugliest
political vitriol I have heard has come in church or from Christians. God cannot be happy. We need help.
We need wisdom. And this need for
wisdom is a major problem.
Job says, “Where shall wisdom be found, and
where is the place of understanding?
Human beings do not know the way to it” (28:12-13a). After suffering tremendously and then arguing
with friends about the purpose of his suffering, Job concludes that wisdom is
completely inaccessible. “It is,” he
says, “hidden from the eyes of all the living” (28:21).
Someone running for office makes promises about
all the things he is going to do if elected.
He chides his opponent for failed policies and empty promises. He follows up with his own arrogant boasting
about how he will bring strong leadership.
Where is his wisdom? According to
Job, wisdom is not “in the land of the living” (v. 13b). Wisdom cannot be bought; “silver cannot be
weighed out as its price” (15b).
Wisdom also cannot be earned. In the book of Ecclesiastes we are told to be
wary of any teaching or study beyond wise sayings. “Of making many books there is no end, and
much study is weariness of the flesh” (13:12).
Wisdom, something we need as much as a need anything as this grinding
political cycle comes finally to a conclusion – wisdom is impossibly
elusive. Where is the hope that our
narrative could differently, more peacefully, with less evil speech?
Can Democrats be good Democrats without
demonizing Republicans? Can Republicans
be who they are without belittling Democrats?
Can Christ-followers rise above it all and participate in our country’s
democracy and at the same time bring glory to God in our word and speech?
Gerald Janzen of Christian International
Seminary notes where Job dismisses human efforts. In his talk about mining precious metals and
then dealing in Ophir and onyx and sapphire, as well as silver and gold, Job
observes that neither technology nor commerce can find or produce wisdom. Science and business both come up short. Yet in our time, we are so proud of the
wealth produced in our capitalist society.
We brag of the gains of our technological advancements. Where does it lead? Not to wisdom.
From Proverbs 8: “Does not wisdom call? On the heights at the crossroads, she takes
her stand” (Proverbs 8:1a, 2). There,
wisdom speaks. “The Lord created me at
the beginning of his work, the first of his acts long ago.” Turning to the New Testament, we look to James
1:5. “If any is lacking in wisdom, ask
God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given to
you.” And again from Job, “Truly the
fear of the Lord, that is wisdom”
(28:28).
Janzen cites this truth as the centerpiece of
Job – it all comes back to the fear of the Lord. Job’s friends talk about God in time-worn
clichés the way politicians talk about their platforms and lampoon their
opponents. Voters mimic the sound bites
of their candidate of choice. Job, too
shaken to wax theological, resorts to prayer; it comes in rather abrupt laments
that are uncomfortably honest and rash.
But Job does not spend time theologizing or spouting clichés or sound
bites. Job prays. Janzen sees in this his fear of the
Lord. In declaring the impossibility of
wisdom, Job shows the way to wisdom.
Wisdom cannot be found, cannot be bought, and
cannot be earned or figured out. Only
God discovers wisdom; wisdom itself is God’s first creative act. God is the giver of wisdom, something he happily
doles out in generous amounts. And the
simplest definition of wisdom is fear of the Lord. Another way of saying it is wisdom is found
when we worship God, revere God’s holy name, and acknowledge God, revealed in
Jesus, as Lord and master of our lives.
The essence of truth in Job is ridiculously
simple. And this may be the very essence
of truth throughout scripture. Fear the
Lord and turn from evil, for as Job says in the second phrase of verse 28, “to
depart from evil is understanding.” Every
good thing that comes from human hands, human speech, and human minds begins in
our worship of God and our rejection of evil.
Building on this we add more from James, chapter
3, beginning in verse 13:
Who is
wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are
done with gentleness born of wisdom.14But if you
have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and
false to the truth.15Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly,
unspiritual, devilish.16For where there is envy and
selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.17But the
wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full
of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.18And a
harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.
Wisdom is found
when we revere the Lord. A sign of those
who have found it is that their works are done with gentleness. Most who have wisdom don’t know they have
it. They aren’t trying to be the
smartest person in the room; they strive for purity and peace. They are gentle and full of mercy.
How many candidates in local,
state, or national races are gentle and full of mercy? I have heard it over and over: you can’t run
for office and be honest or nice. You’ve
got to be a little dirty because your opponent with surely be underhanded. But God’s Holy word says wisdom from above,
which I believe is far superior to any wisdom humans can concoct, is seen in
acting rightly, gently, and mercifully.
If that is heavenly wisdom and all
candidates have to be nasty, given to deceptive exaggeration, and aggressive –
all things the opposite of what we read wisdom to be in James chapter 3 – then
does it mean all our elected officials are fools? No. It
means our system has gotten to a point where it rewards foolish behavior and
ignores the wisdom of God. We are ruled
by Job’s friends, the only ones our system allows to have power – at least the
power of elected office.
What then do we do as God’s
church? We can’t find wisdom and give it
to our president and senators and governor.
Wisdom can’t be found. We can
fear the Lord, which means we revere and worship Him. We can seek him because, as James says, he
gives generously and ungrudgingly. We
have something more powerful than our one vote.
We have prayer.
The paradox of wisdom is that it
is ours when we stop looking for it and begin seeking God. We possess unlimited power when we empty
ourselves, die to self, and silence our own voices, speaking only to God and
speaking in tones only God hears.
What can we do? Every one of us should vote. Between now and Tuesday, we pray. On Tuesday, we pray. And after Tuesday, we pray. We might appear as fools to the world, but
fear of the Lord, which leads us into prayer, is wisdom. So we go before the Lord, who through His
only Son Jesus invites us as his sons and daughters. In prayer, we go to him, and we carry in our
hearts those who are victims of the foolishness of America. We pray by name in earnest for Mitt Romney
and Barak Obama, for Walter Dalton and Pat McCrory. We do it because at the end of the book of
Job, the salvation of Job’s friends came when Job prayed for them. Job’s friends rule us now, and they need
God’s wisdom. They’ll only get it if God
gives it and they receive it. We cannot
control their responses. We can only control
what we do. The wise thing is to do
justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before the Lord, and to pray. This is a time of prayer.
AMEN
After the sermon, we will have a
time of response where the church is invited to pray for the nation.
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