7) Wisdom and maturity

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If you have ever read the Book of Job, like me you may have struggled with the overall message. I have found that I get more out of it every time I read it again. A close friend found Job quite moving; but he has suffered severe trials in his life, and I wonder if he relates to the message more powerfully because of his experience. One of the characters in the story is intriguing. Elihu was a younger man who waited until the three older men had run out of arguments. He then got very animated saying that they and Job were all wrong as he sought to justify God.

maturity

At the end of the story, God appears and restates His divine power over all things. He rebukes the three older men and commands Job to pray for them. However, God appears to ignore the younger man, Elihu. Why is this? Well, there are different ideas, including one which thinks Elihu was right in what he said. However, I have often thought that God did simply ignore him. If that was the case, perhaps it shows that the fervour of youth does not necessarily translate into the wisdom of God. Wisdom comes from God; but also from the lessons of life, if that life is lived with an open heart to learn from experience.

There are many instances in the bible which show that wisdom comes with maturity. This applies in the secular world too. I recall as a teenager being determined to spend my hard-earned cash on the latest fashion in clothes – a suit without lapels on the jacket. My Dad confronted me about it and pointed out that modern fashions come and go quickly. He said that I would be better off buying a traditional suit which would last many years. I took his advice, and it was true. However good or bad parenting may be, the bible does commend listening to our parents because they are more mature, saying:

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. (Proverbs 1:8-9)

And it has further advice to youth – be careful in choosing your friends:

Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.
(Proverbs 13:20)

ask

So, does this imply that we cannot gain wisdom when we are young. Of course not. The temptation when young is to think that we don’t need wisdom since we have so many ideas and such energy! However, God only gives His wisdom to those who know they need it; and only if we ask:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (James 1:5)

Don’t forget, that the human brain doesn’t reach maturity, especially emotionally, until the mid-20s. The energy and enthusiasm of youth is a wonderful gift, but it easily becomes authoritarian and over-confident. This can be exploited by cunning people who incite youth into rebellion in order to use them for their own agendas. This can be made even worse by our modern education systems in which impressionable young people can easily be indoctrinated. You may have heard the old joke about this, and one with which we can surely all identify! A young man is speaking:

“When I was 14, I became aware of how little my father knew about anything. But by the time I was 21 he had learned so much!”

None of what I am saying prevents those who are young from taking on responsibilities and using their gifts. What is needed by them, and by all of us in truth, is to recognise personal weaknesses and immaturity and then be willing to ask for help. In that way, we can all develop wisdom by referencing decisions to others. If our wisdom is sound, that encourages our gift; if it needs modifying, we are the better for it, and so are those to whom we give advice. From experience I know how important this is. Around age 30, with no previous experience, I found myself responsible for 20 or so people living a shared community life. We also gave hospitality to homeless people. When one such man living with us would put a razor blade in his mouth and threaten to swallow it, it was important to consult someone older and wiser for advice on how to deal with the situation.

mystery

I began this series on Wisdom by referencing Paul’s teaching to the Corinthian church. This is what he wrote about maturity:

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. (2 Corinthians 2:6-7)

Paul here is making three distinctions:

The apostle James enlarges on this in his letter. He has important insights into God’s wisdom. He begins here:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (James 1:5)

We must seek and ask for wisdom; it is not granted automatically; but on asking, God will give it generously. It is not that God is being miserly or withholding wisdom; it is such a vital gift that God wants us to appreciate its importance and not take it for granted. However immature we might be, we are still able to ask for wisdom. But first we must recognise that we lack it. Who asks for what they think they already have?

humility

If we read more of this passage, there is a deeper context:

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (James 1:4-6)

Firstly, maturity does not simply come through a process of time but through the experience of perseverance in the face of trials. There are plenty of older people who are still immature because they have not allowed the trials which they faced to create in them the fruits of maturity and wisdom. Secondly, we can only receive if we ask with faith. Maturity does not come through intellectual brilliance but through the simple means of believing without doubting. One of the marks of intellectual unbelief is deliberately creating doubt. It was the method which the devil used to deceive Eve in the Garden with his question: “Did God say?” She succumbed to doubts! Trials humble us; this is especially true if we have a proud mind. Sometimes our experiences make no sense so that we are forced to trust in a loving heavenly Father to whom we belong. Where God sees this implicit trust in Him, He knows He can entrust us with His heavenly wisdom.

Wisdom and humility walk hand-in-hand. The trials of life will serve to dent our pride and teach us the virtues of humility. Humility and wisdom can be seen in the quality of the life of the wise person. James continues:

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. (James 3:1)

No one who is truly wise will ever boast about it. They know wisdom is a gift to those who have persevered through painful trials. Others will come to trust our wisdom if we display the loving lifestyle of the servant of the Lord. Wisdom can work out the balance between our own pressing needs and those of others. Paul put it this way:

in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:3-4)

The world’s wisdom teaches us to value ourselves before others. The wisdom of God gets the balance of needs right.

earthly

Later in the same chapter, James explains that the wisdom of the world has an unspiritual and demonic source:

But if you harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 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. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:14-18)

There are plenty of unspiritual voices in the world which tell us to value ourselves before others. It is wisdom from the pit of Hell and designed to appeal to our selfish, earthly tendencies and ensnare us. Eve submitted to that temptation because the fruit appealed to her earthly, sensuous nature and she believed the lie that it would make her wise. Demonic wisdom is divisive tending to break up friendship rather than build up fellowship. If followed it will bring its adherents into sin. But God’s pure wisdom creates love and commitment in people who look to one another’s interests. True wisdom creates a considerate atmosphere where people can forgive one another because wisdom has made them aware of their own shortcomings. Wise people are sincere in their friendships and do not use other people for their own ends. They do not take sides but seek to be peacemakers who bring people together.

eat

To finish, let’s return to Proverbs. Here we also see the way that trials and tests can lead us to maturity and wisdom:

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honour. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. (Proverbs 2:11-18)

Our heavenly Father would not love us if He did not allow us to meet various trials and tests. He knows these are the route to discovering wisdom through maturity. Those who are taken in by the world’s wisdom will seek its silver and gold. They will desire the rubies of fashion and fame. But the mature and wise will not set their heart on such transitory riches. They will seek the true riches of God’s blessings; the riches of friendships full of wisdom; the honour of a life which God can use.

Eve was offered the Tree of Life by God, but she chose to eat of the tree of worldly knowledge. God’s wisdom restores choice to us. Wisdom allows us to eat again of the Tree of Life because Jesus said He is our spiritual food and spiritual drink. As we eat, we can enter in, not just to long life, but eternal life. Remember this promise of Jesus:

‘Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. (John 6:53-54)

This promise of eternal life is not something we pack away in our pocket and then do nothing more with it. Eternal life must be a force within us; a motivation to grow in wisdom and grace. Eternal life becomes a compelling passion to keep on seeking Jesus and the wisdom from heaven. Indeed, seeking wisdom is a lifetime practice! In Proverbs, Wisdom is speaking:

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. (Proverbs 8:17)

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