“Wisdom is proved right by her actions.” (Matthew 11:19, NIV)
You don’t have to spend much time looking up golf videos on YouTube in order to discover how many methods and ideas are available to improve your swing and game. And quite honestly, to the amateur’s eye and eager ears, they nearly all seem good. “This guy is on to something,” we say to ourselves, reaching for the 6-iron in our office or garage to get the first feel of this glorious new bit of wisdom.
But then there is the proof in the proverbial pudding. That proverb actually began like this: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” It was the foodie’s response to the reader’s version, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” And both of these, we might speculate, derived from Jesus’ teaching that wisdom is proved by her actions.
If we have some generational hubris over the matter, we tell ourselves that there have never been more voices and more opinions in the history of humanity than we have now. And we may be right. But there was enough “wisdom” being spouted in Jesus’ time that he encouraged his followers to put it to the test.
Chesterton saw clearly that the prevailing action when it came to living the Christ-led life was inaction.So where does wisdom receive its confirmation? On the ground, as it turns out. In the nitty-gritty of life. If something is truly wise, it will work when we apply it. And if it is God’s wisdom, it won’t work only in this church over here or among that people group over there. God’s wisdom works for us all.
This, you know, leads to a critical question for each one of us: Am I willing to try it? Will I put God’s wisdom aside or put it into action?
G.K. Chesterton, the 20th Century theologian and philosopher who stored his wide-ranging ideas under a mussy-haired crown, famously noted, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” Chesterton saw clearly that the prevailing action when it came to living the Christ-led life was inaction. I’ll raise my hand first as a guilty party if that helps.
Our evening Links Fellowship at Visalia Country Club in Central California has only recently moved into Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Talk about the Christian ideal! At every turn, we are presented with a wisdom that seems to make no sense: Adultery happens in your heart. Turn off your anger, even at those who demand the world of you or throw their persecuting jabs in your direction. Stop worrying about the basic needs of life. On the page, none of it strikes you as something you want to run out and try. But here is why you must: You will never know the wonder of God’s wisdom until you live it, hard as it may at first seem.
—
Jeff Hopper
February 25, 2020
Copyright 2020 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
Photo by Jopwell from Pexels