Tag Wisdom

A Wonderful Counselor: What We Need For Christmas…Part 2

Todd R 2 Comments

According to James Boice (see last post in the series), if you asked people to honestly describe their needs, they might describe one as: “We have minds. So we have a need to know things rightly, to understand. We need wisdom.”  In Isaiah 9:6, Jesus, the Christ of Christmas, is described as our Wonderful Counselor, who meets our need for wisdom.

But what is wisdom?  Wisdom is about taking the right action, not about being book smart, or accumulating facts.  You don’t need to be brilliant to have wisdom.  Wisdom looks forward.  It is proactive and specific to you.  Nobody else’s situation is your situation, and nobody else has the same history, relationships, abilities, and resources. Your path is your own.

Why do we need wisdom?  Because our inner conscience is not one, clear voice with the right answer.  It is a jumble of influences and desires, which I’ve described as a multi-voiced “Moral GPS.” How do you even choose from among your own wants?  Everyone is limited by time and resources.  Also, what if your wants conflict with each other?  “I love junk food, but I want to be healthy.”  Also, how do you decide what is “good” to do?  Who decides what is “harmful”?  What if someone else’s desires harm you?  Can you tell them their desires are wrong, or even disagree on what “harm” is, in a world where everyone just lives by their own messy conscience?[1]

We are never truly free.  Absolute freedom is not good, or even possible, and therefore we need a reliable filter and that is what wisdom is.  Wisdom enables us to choose the best possible path from among the many choices before us.  This is especially tricky as multiple paths may look “true” or “best” to us, and most paths have ripple effects we can’t possibly anticipate.  In our world information is more readily available than ever before, but many people just seem more overwhelmed by it all.

Only someone who knows us perfectly, who knows every possible consequence of our choices on us and on others, and who loves us with our best interests in mind is qualified to be our Wonderful Counselor and worthy of our trust.  Others can provide incomplete guidance – parents, teachers, ministers, writers, philosophers – but each of these also needs its own filter.

In the gift of Jesus as Wonderful Counselor we can satisfy one of our deepest needs: “To know the truth! Jesus Christ is the truth, and he is for us a Wonderful Counselor.” (Boice)

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

As God, He has no gaps in his knowledge or biases and therefore His words to us are not an inadequate abstraction or wishful thinking.  He alone is perfectly trustworthy.  He does not want to scold or punish you, but to guide you in perfect wisdom that only He can provide.  He does not magically tell you everywhere to go, holding up signs, but desires a relationship.  To walk with you and guide you to life eternal. He wants us to invite Him into our lives, and He is Wonderful.

This is the first gift of Christ in Christmas.

[1] Keller, Timothy.  Making Sense of God (2016).  This paragraph draws from Chapter 5.

Thanksgiving is Good and Fitting

Todd R 1 Comment

Since 1942, the United States have celebrated a holiday for Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of every November.  For Christians the holiday is a time to remember the source of their blessings, regardless of how large or small those blessings seem.  In Ecclesiastes 5:18-19, the Preacher recommends celebrating and enjoying our material things, and recognizing God as the Giver of them all, including the work needed to produce and prepare them:

“Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.”

Photo by Pro Church Media on Unsplash

However, as the Preacher wrote, even those with good jobs and plentiful possessions may find it difficult to truly enjoy them.  It is “good and fitting”, but it is also “the gift of God” to find joy in the now instead of chasing things we don’t already have.  It does not come naturally.

For many, time and events make each Thanksgiving different.  The company around the table may have changed.  The meal may be different.  The means of providing the meal may be different.  The familiarity of tradition may have been shaken by the pandemic and other circumstances.  Much has changed, and much will change.

Therefore, focus on the Giver behind the gifts you have, and seek contentment with thankfulness that He has provided everything you need. For now, and in eternity.  You are in good company.

A Better Country

Todd R 1 Comment

In Hebrews chapter 11 there is a list of Biblical figures who “by faith” were obedient to God, but it also says that, in this life, their faith was not fully rewarded.  Everyone mentioned in the chapter “died in faith, cnot having received the things promised”[1]  But these faithful examples knew that God wouldn’t fail them.  In this world, they would be unfulfilled, “but as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.”[2]

Their obedience was motivated not by current, earthly reward, but by future rewards in a new heaven and new earth.  Although Peter tells us “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you,”[3] Paul wrote “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”[4]  In this world, we will have trials and experience persecution, which means that much of what a Christian has to be thankful for is in the future.

However, our faithful actions can be motivated by a future hope, just as those listed in Hebrews 11 were.  Because of the unchanging character of God, and His faithfulness, we can be so sure of our heavenly future that we can be thankful for it now.  God promises “a better country” and He is trustworthy.

Do we desire this “better country”?  While we wander in this world, do we believe that “a better country” is possible?  Do we believe God when He says He has promised us our place in it?  Jesus said “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”[5]

If we trust God for our future in eternity, we have much more to live for and to be thankful for than we have right now!  When you count your blessings, don’t forget the ones in the future that you can count on.

“Desire a better country.”

[1] Hebrews 11:13a
[2] Hebrews 11:16a
[3] 1 Peter 4:12
[4] Romans 8:18
[5] John 14:2

Allow Me to Demonstrate

Todd R 3 Comments

Life as a Christian in the 1st century must have been extraordinarily difficult.  Like Jesus these early disciples faced resistance both from religious leaders as well as the Roman government. Most of these early Christians had not met Jesus personally and also did not have the Bible we have today.  What did they base their faith on?  Largely on the witness of others and on the teachings and examples of the apostles. Paul, who brought many to Christ and founded many churches during his missionary journeys, knew that all of his actions would be scrutinized as to whether they reflected what he was teaching.

Paul told new Christians to keep a close watch on his life, because if Christ had not made a difference in Paul’s life, why should others believe it would make a difference in theirs?  If Paul didn’t personally have love, joy and peace[1] in his life, why should those hearing him preach expect Christ to provide them with love, joy and peace.  He knew actions speak louder than words.

To the church in Corinth Paul wrote: “my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men butin the power of God.”[2]  Paul saw his life as a “demonstration” of God’s power and knew that this demonstration would be more powerful than the competence of his “speech” and the complexity of his “message.”  It’s as if Paul had given a presentation describing God and His power, and then told his audience, “Allow me to demonstrate…”. Paul often gave thanks that the churches he wrote to were living examples of Christian faith lived out.

So, the question comes to us: what do our lives demonstrate?  Do we show love to others?  Do we have joy in all circumstances? Are we at peace with God and can we offer peace to others?  What do people notice about us?  The fruit of the Spirit, or the patterns of this world?

Pray for all of God’s people, including you and I, that we would walk with Christ, abiding in Him, so that we may bear the fruit of love, joy and peace that the world will notice.  When we proclaim Christ, with Paul we should be able to say “allow me to demonstrate…”

“People may not agree with our theology but they shouldn’t be able to argue with our lives.” – John McGowan

“Out of a hundred people, one will read the Bible, and the other ninety-nine will read the Christian.” – Dwight L. Moody

[1] Galatians 5:22
[2] 1 Corinthians 2:4-5

Grandpa Solomon’s Retirement Advice

Todd R 3 Comments

Have you ever asked yourself what Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, and author of much Biblical wisdom, would have to say about modern retirement?  Probably not, but I’m going to write about it anyway, because Solomon actually had some relevant advice.

Since this blog is not a source of income, I have a day job which happens to involve helping companies help their employees save and invest for retirement.  In American culture, retirement has in some ways replaced heaven as the future we hope for.  Advertisements promise retirees can do all the things they dreamed of doing during their working years.  Travel.  Relax.  Read those books you’ve been putting off reading.  If you can, buy a yacht.  After all, if you’ve worked so hard for it, you deserve it, they say.  Like many marketing schemes, something good and prudent (saving for retirement) is wrapped in a lot of gloss to get you to do something you might not do otherwise.  Sacrifices made now are worthwhile because of a later reward.

A photo I took from a Florida beach over the Atlantic near sunrise. I’d like to retire here, but heaven is better.

Thinking about this, I made the connection that Solomon[1] when writing Ecclesiastes was acting in the role of a wise, Godly grandfather in a way that offers a sharp contrast to the story of retirement that goes unchallenged in our culture.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon lays out an argument that he lived almost the exact life pictured in our retirement ads but learned to regret it.  While still a very young man, he had the power and wealth to try anything he wanted.  He planted vineyards and drank a lot of wine.  He built gardens and pools and acquired many servants and property.  He also had 700 wives and 300 concubines.[2]  He could have everything he desired – everything the retirement ads would show you if they could be R-rated – but he ended up disappointed.  Ecclesiastes is his advice to those who come after to not repeat his mistakes.

While a blog post can’t cover all of Ecclesiastes, I must add that Solomon did encourage us to invest for the future, but also not to place all our bets on one specific vision of the future: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.  Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.”  (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2).  A long, healthy and prosperous retirement is one possible future among many, but eternity with God is a future certainty.  Earlier in the book, Solomon writes: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)  God gives us a sense of what He has planned for us, but not many of the details.  We should not foolishly ignore the future, but we should not cling to one future we desire at the cost of the present God has given us and the future He already knows everything about.

Solomon encourages everyone – young and old – to live more in their own moment, enjoying the gifts God has given them and sharing those gifts with the people around them.  While Solomon is encouraging the young to not repeat his own mistakes, he is also encouraging the old to share their perspective.  In both cases, Solomon is telling us not to stress too much about what may or may not happen, but to invest what we have in light of what will be meaningful in eternity.  Joy comes from enjoying the relationships and things God has blessed us with now, not from sacrificing the now in light of a false vision of retirement.

Solomon recommends joy in God’s provision, and so I close with this quote, and pray that we all experience joy and thankfulness in the gifts God has given us today.  Don’t keep them to yourself.

“Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.  Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head.  Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.” – Ecclesiastes 9:7-10

[1] I’m going to proceed for the sake of argument that Solomon is the author of Ecclesiastes, although I know some debate that and it’s not explicitly stated.
[2] 1 Kings 11:3