Wisdom

Proverbs 1:20-33 (The Message)

Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts.
At the town center she makes her speech.

In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand.

At the busiest corner she calls out: "Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance?
Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism?
Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?

About face! I can revise your life.
Look, I'm ready to pour out my spirit on you;
I'm ready to tell you all I know.

As it is, I've called, but you've turned a deaf ear;
I've reached out to you, but you've ignored me.

"Since you laugh at my counsel and make a joke of my advice, How can I take you seriously?

I'll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!

What if the roof falls in, and your whole life goes to pieces?
What if catastrophe strikes and there's nothing to show for your life but rubble and ashes?
You'll need me then. You'll call for me, but don't expect an answer.

No matter how hard you look, you won't find me.
"Because you hated Knowledge and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God,
Because you wouldn't take my advice and brushed aside all my offers to train you,

Well, you've made your bed—now lie in it;
you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?

Don't you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots?

Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.

First pay attention to me, and then relax.
Now you can take it easy—you're in good hands."

My freshman year of high school, I worked hard in practices (and I went to a really small school), and I landed the job as starting catcher on my varsity baseball team. I was really proud of myself.

Until, early in the season, leading off an inning, my coach gave me the bunt sign.

The bunt sign!

Let's just say that "speed" was not my game. I wasn't a bunter.

But hey, he's the coach. I bunted. They threw me out, of course. I made my way back across the infield to our dugout, pretty proud of myself. It was a good bunt, I thought.

My coach was a deep shade of purple. Veins stood out in his head and neck. He came close to me, straining to keep control. "What kind of idiot do you think I am," he breathed.

No answer from me.

Yeah, I missed a sign. There was no bunt.

After the inning, he took me aside and screamed at me like no coach had screamed before. Obviously, I still remember it. I got the message.

Baseball is a team game. Sometimes, you make mistakes. But if you're not sure what to do, the remedy is simple. Even the pros do it. You stop and ask. You get clarity before acting. You call time and walk down to your coach.

That may seem embarrassing, but it sure beats missing the sign.

I didn't enjoy being called an idiot...but look what happens in this proverb? "Wisdom," personified as a woman in the street, calls out to people...and says that they're idiots because they won't listen to her.

Humility is the beginning of wisdom. It means we can stop and ask directions. It means we can get clarity.

What does God want? What is Wisdom trying to teach us today? Do you know where you're heading, and why?

Let's stop and make sure. Ask for Wisdom's help, and she'll surely reply.

Grace and Peace,
Adam