Archive for the ‘Wisdom’ Category

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Fear Not

January 3, 2023

“My child, do not let these escape from your sight:

keep sound wisdom and prudence,

and they will be life for your soul

and adornment for your neck.

Then you will walk on your way securely

and your foot will not stumble.

If you sit down, you will not be afraid;

when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Do not be afraid of sudden panic,

or of the storm that strikes the wicked;

for the LORD will be your confidence

and will keep your foot from being caught.”

Do not fear—one of the most common God-responses in the Bible. These words from the Proverbs point us toward an antidote for fear. The writer earlier talks about carrying these words in your heart—meaning that we should make them part of our life. 

Proverbs are not to be memorized—they are to be lived.

Did you make a New Years’ Resolution about getting away from social media? More than 3,000 years ago ancient Hebrew thinkers had this to say:

“Do not quarrel with anyone without cause, when no harm has been done to you.”

Quotes are from The Life with God Bible NRSV–Old Testament, Renovare, Richard J. Foster, Dallas Willard, Walter Brueggemann, Eugene H. Peterson, Bruce Demarest, Evan Howard, James Earl Massey & Catherine Taylor

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Upon Further Investigation

January 2, 2023

You hear something about someone accompanied with a judgement. It’s not exactly gossip. It’s news with a view. The subtle, or not-so-subtle, intent of the speaker is to influence how you think about the target.

Then you engage in a conversation with them—the target. You listen to their story. They tell you how they felt. Their emotions. How they dealt with whatever the situation was.

Then you understand.

And the judgement had been rushed, but it will stick with the originator. Will they ever change their attitude? Some will; some won’t.

But as s second-hand hearer, I can disregard the judgement and understand.

Some psychologists trying to figure out the human personality will say it depends upon what number you are on the Enneagram or your something-something on the Myers-Briggs Types Indicator.

I think it’s growth. The development of wisdom that comes from reflecting on experience. Some of us grow. Some of us do not.

I’m reading through the 31 chapters of Proverbs, as I do most January’s, to establish a firm orientation for the new year. In the Wisdom of the Proverbs, we learn about the wise and the fool and the scoffer. Read, learn, practice.

For me, fifty-five years of contemplative practice helped with perspective.

May this new year afford you opportunities for growth. May you accept them and emerge the better for it.

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Wisdom Establishes Tone For the New Year

December 30, 2022

Annual reminder to self (and anyone who listens):

Begin the New Year on the right foot. Not with “resolutions” that will never be kept. Not even for a week. Immerse yourself in Wisdom for 31 days for orientation. There are 31 days in January. The book of Proverbs from the Old Testament has 31 chapters. One chapter a day for a month.

Beginning in Proverbs 8 we begin to see a portrait of Lady Wisdom as God’s agent on our behalf. She takes her stand at the crossroads, near the city gates, crying out (8:1–3). The point is that wisdom is widely available knowledge. God cares for us and wants to keep us out of trouble. So virtue is not a matter of arcane knowledge or obscure teaching. It is accessible to everyone.

From the Life With God Bible, Richard J. Foster, Dallas Willard, et. al.

A few additional thoughts to set the tone for the year—and perhaps a reminder every day:

7 Things Mindful People Do

  • Practice being curious
  • Forgive themselves
  • Hold their emotions lightly
  • Practice compassion
  • Make peace with imperfection
  • Embrace vulnerability
  • Understand all things come and go

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Complex or Simple

December 21, 2022

Occam’s Razor (a principle in philosophy) holds  that with competing theories or explanations, the simpler one is to be preferred.

One of my favorite contemporary writers, Nassim Taleb, holds that Mathematics make complex problem simpler; economics makes simple problems complicated. To economists I add as do theologians and pastors.

My wife is reading a book I pulled from my library, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, by NT Wright. He is an extraordinary scholar who can also write for us “plain folks.” But she had trouble getting into the book. (Her normal reading is novels.) Then, suddenly it clicked.

My point is that when you are reading the Bible or other spiritual writing (or anything for that matter) do not try to take the complicated path. If Jesus’ last command was to love one another, he meant, well, that we should love one another. Full stop (or period if you’re American).

Yes, Paul wrote much seemingly complicated prose describing what that meant. Don’t make it complicated. When you are faced with another person or a comment on social media, remember that Jesus said to love one another. Don’t make it hard. What does love require in that moment? Do it!

My point is that when you are reading the Bible or other spiritual writing (or anything for that matter) do not try to take the complicated path. If Jesus’ last command was to love one another, he meant, well, that we should love one another. Full stop (or period if you’re American).

Yes, Paul wrote much seemingly complicated prose describing what that meant. Don’t make it complicated. When you are faced with another person or a comment on social media, remember that Jesus said to love one another. Don’t make it hard. What does love require in that moment? Do it!

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What If You Cannot Start Your Day Perfectly

December 20, 2022

My bed has sensors and a microcontroller and networking. When I get up for the day, I can open the app and learn about my night. How much restful sleep, how much restless. How long it took me to fall asleep. Whether I met my proper circadian rhythm, spent enough time in bed, got enough restful sleep. The little computer runs through a calculation and gives me a “Sleep IQ” number.

My daughter is a therapist who numbers among her clients many people–especially teenagers–with anxiety problems often driven by the need to succeed. This number would push them even further along their spectrum. OMG, I didn’t get a 90. I’m a failure at sleep, too!

Yesterday I wrote about a way to orient yourself to a new day. It is good to have a discipline to help orient yourself to the new day.

But life happens. Sometimes you cannot hit the mark. Maybe you slept late because people came over to visit. Or there was a party. Or that chili you had for dinner talked to you all night.

Or, you have an early appointment. Or, you just feel like crap.

It’s like my Sleep IQ number. Yesterday I was 87; today I’m 60. But I still feel OK. If I look at the numbers one day at a time, I can feel good or let that low number ruin my day.

Or, I can look at a long term, say over a month or two, and realize that if I plotted those points on a graph they are actually pretty consistent.

I can get all worked up over missing a part of my morning routine and let it ruin my day.

Or, I can shrug and say “life happens” and make the best of the rest of the day. We learn to just go with the flow.

The goal is consistency over time. It is not being perfect every day. They tell me that Jesus was perfect every day (but he also lost his temper a few times). No one else has ever been recorded as being perfect every day. It certainly isn’t going to be me that breaks that string.

What has helped me learn this? One is consistent, but far from perfect, meditation practice. Another is Yoga. Another is this rural country boy learning to drive in Chicago rush hour traffic that screams along at about 5 miles per hour (8 kilometers per hour). You learn to slow your body rhythm and go with the flow. Your are better off at the end.

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Memorizing Does Not Wisdom Make

October 31, 2022

Aphorism from Nassim Nicholas Taleb, “Just as eating cow meat doesn’t turn you into a cow, studying philosophy does not make you wiser.”

Seth Godin points out that memorizing A and then memorizing B does not make you smarter. Saying B is similar to A begins to add knowledge. Metaphor (or simile) trumps memorization.

We can read and memorize as many passages of scriptures as our brains can hold. That will not bring us closer to simply following Jesus. He said in many guises, Love one another as I have loved you.

Reflecting on what we’ve read, digesting in the attitude of loving others, acting on what we know–now we are approaching wisdom.

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In The Image of God

October 20, 2022

The first story in the Hebrew Scriptures (Christian “Old Testament”) has become a source of contention among those who read spiritual writing in various ways. Some think it’s science (something unheard of 3,000 years ago when this was written). Others have other concepts.

Perhaps we miss the important point. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, former “Chief Rabbi” in England provided this analysis.

“What makes the first chapter of Genesis so revolutionary is its statement that every human being, regardless of class, color, culture, or creed, is in the image and likeness of God himself. We know that in the ancient world it was rulers, kings, emperors, and pharaohs who were held to be in the image of God. So what Genesis was saying was that we are all royalty. We each have equal dignity in the kingdom of faith under the sovereignty of God.”

We should pause. And then pause further. And then let it steep into our very DNA. And then upon meeting another one of God’s children or reading about another one of God’s children, let this knowledge that we have equal dignity in the kingdom of God guide our reactions. If we all could do that, wouldn’t this be a better place to live?

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Enough Is A Feast

September 26, 2022

Enough is a feast.

Everywhere you look or listen, others tell us we Americans must pursue more. This is no doubt true in many other parts of the world. Messages from advertising, TikTok, YouTube, friends tell us we need more clothes, more cosmetics, more money, bigger house, new car. If you are not seeking a promotion at work, you are a failure.

A man came to Jesus and asked him to tell his brother to give him more of an inheritance. Jesus replied with a story. A farmer had a bountiful crop. He had so much that he planned to tear down his barns and build bigger ones to hold all the grain. Then God said to the farmer, “Fool, today your soul will be demanded of you. Now, of what use will the bigger barns be.”

Jesus offered the point of the story. “This is what happens when you fill your barn with Self rather than God.”

When we know where are true priorities are, then striving for more is a waste. Enough is a feast.

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Truth

September 9, 2022

As far as I can remember I have been on a journey seeking truth. I had not idea what it would be when I found it. But “it” had to be out there somewhere.

Even studying the sciences, that was in the back of my mind. When I describe God in terms of quantum physics, my poor Reformed friends just shake their heads. They know what truth is and have no need to explore.

I wasn’t satisfied.

I wrote a paper as a freshman in university about the concept of truth revealed in Henrik Ibsen’s play/poem Peer Gynt. It’s stuck with me ever since.

Truth isn’t a statement. A belief. Something that separates me from other people such that I can feel justified hating or killing them.

Truth was a journey. Sort of like the peeling of an onion. Layer after layer. Day by day. I live today for the day. I learn something new today. I serve someone today. I grow a bit today. Some days I’m closer to God; some days I’m farther away. But God is always around me.

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When You Are Empty, Then You Can Be Filled

August 16, 2022

I’ve been reading the Christian Bible, the New Testament, in a different translation. I like to do that. The new choices of words open my mind enabling deeper insights into meaning. These sentences are the first two “Beatitudes” or the opening words of the way Matthew presented what we call The Sermon on the Mount.

  • You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
  • Your blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the one most dear to you.

Both of these speak to our condition. When we are too full of ourselves, too full of our competence, importance, possessions, people, then we have no room for God.

The presentation seems to prepare us for all the teaching that follows throughout Matthew chapters 5, 6, 7.

We should not have the hubris to dive in and just read those teachings as if we can easily pick up the meaning. We must begin, much like the 12-step program, by recognizing our limitations, by emptying our self-importance. Then we can appropriately approach what Jesus is trying to teach us.

Scholars, both professional and amateur, miss the next point which is the conclusion of of the sermon:

Whoever hears these words and does them…

Posted in Disciplines, Doing, Wisdom | Leave a Comment »

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