Sermon - Pentecost 11 

August 16, 2009 

Giving advice is something people have most likely done since the beginning of time. Furthermore, not taking good advice has likely been around just as long. How many parents have clearly seen the mistakes their children are about to make, and gave them advice to avoid that mistake? How many children have ignored the advice given by those same parents who see the missteps the children are taking?

We have sayings we hear from an early age: Haste makes waste. A penny saved is a penny earned. A stitch in time saves nine. A word to the wise is sufficient. A half a loaf is better than no loaf. I remember as a child in school, we even had an illustrated book teaching us the meaning of these sayings.

There are little sayings of advice that are part of every culture; there are even sayings that are unique to families. There are sayings that maybe you heard from a relative or a neighbor. People will say my mother always said, or my grandfather used to say. Maybe someone said his favorite saying every time you talked with him. Words of advice have always been part of the human experience.

The book of Proverbs is about giving advice. The book is a collection of advice used to educate the young men of Israel. However, the Book of Proverbs has something unique, which sets it apart from being just an advice book. Within the sayings of Proverbs, there is the idea of Wisdom. Proverbs speaks of Wisdom in ways that almost present it as having a personality. Wisdom is spoken of in Proverbs almost as if it is a personification of God. By describing Wisdom as having personal characteristics, Wisdom shows itself not to be just a desired trait, but a way of being. Wisdom grows with time.

We often confuse knowledge or intelligence with Wisdom. They are not one in the same. As someone pointed out, over the last ten years, we have had an explosion of knowledge. Information is everywhere. What one could only find at the finest libraries thirty years ago, one is now able to find at a keyboard at home. However, with all that knowledge out there, we are not much wiser for it.

Wisdom and knowledge are not the same. Wisdom guides how we live, as opposed to simply giving us information. Furthermore, wisdom surprises us. There have been decisions I have made that at the time, I carefully thought through, and which felt wise. However, over time, I have come to view those decisions as foolish. Wisdom surprises us in how it grows; we are never static because of it.

Being followers of Christ is not an abstract thing. Believing in God and seeking to do God's will is not about feeling guilty or embracing some vague spirituality. It is about living. God has given us the gift of his Wisdom. What that means is that we know that our wisdom is limited, however, God's Wisdom in infinite. God's Wisdom invites us to that place where we can live abundantly. We are invited to walk into life knowing that we will not always have an understanding of it. However, we also know that God will lead us by his Wisdom and cause us to grow in our own. This is part of the essence of being God's creation, God's children, and God's hands in the world.

Just after today's lesson, there is Proverbs 9:8-10. It reads, "A scoffer who is rebuked will only hate you; the wise, when rebuked, will love you. Give instruction to the wise, and they will become wiser still; teach the righteous and they will gain in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."

Those words stand as true today as they did when they were first written thousands of years ago. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is in respecting him that we gain insight into the world around us and into ourselves. Our wisdom is fragmentary. God's Wisdom is eternal. It is by entrusting ourselves to his Wisdom by showing him honor, that we are led in his ways and into his kingdom. It is in honoring him that we are assured of eternal life, and that the life we live here may be truly wise. Amen.