The Virtue of Wisdom

19 August 2018 – 13^th Sunday of Pentecost

1 Kings 3:3-14; Luke 21:8-19 

“The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.  His praise endures forever.”  Psalm 111:10

The late Christian author (and former atheist), C.S. Lewis, once wrote, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at its testing point”.   St. Augustine held that “Humility is the foundation of all other virtues; in the soul in which this virtue does not exist, there can be no other virtue except in mere appearance”.

What each is saying is it would be difficult to measure one virtue against another because it would come near to suggesting if we think we possess one virtue in its fullness, we would probably not only be wrong but we might falsely believe we have no need of the others, failing to appreciate the wisdom of knowing each virtue is necessarily and intimately connected to the others toward the complete and whole person.  When we pick and choose, we miss what it means to become truly “holy”.  And “without holiness, one will not see God” (Hebrews 12:14).

Traditionally, the seven Christian virtues combine the four classical cardinal virtues of prudence (caution, discernment), justice (with mercy), temperance (abstinence from harmful things), and courage – with the three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. 

Yet even the virtues cannot have meaning if we lack the greatest virtue of all: wisdom.  It is wisdom by which we use these virtues to bring glory to our Father.  Wisdom should not be confused with “common sense” – since what is “common” is often unique only to a specific culture.  By wisdom, I mean God-given wisdom by which we may think and act against the cultural tide; for it is this wisdom – and no other - which not only brings glory to The Father but also guides the faithful to Glory.

King Solomon was smart enough – perhaps wise enough in worldly wisdom – to know he was in over his head as king of The Lord’s Chosen.  But rather than to surrender himself to what might have been construed as “common sense” in his day – as sacrificing in the high places rather than only in the Temple (1 Kings 3:3) – he chose to pursue and to use what The Lord would entrust to him.  

This request so pleased The Lord, He granted not only an overabundance of wisdom to Solomon, He also granted to Solomon “riches and honor” beyond wisdom (1 Kings 3:13) as well as long life – IF – he would honor The Lord’s commandments as his father, King David, did (1 Kings 3:14).  It must also be noted, as it is written, that our willingness and desire to walk humbly with our God is indeed the measure of our love for Him (1 Kings 3:3; Micah 6:8).

A desire to serve The Lord – an earnest and ongoing desire – is what feeds us, enlightens us, sustains us, gives lasting meaning to all we do, and will ultimately save us – as the “wise one” who built his house on rock (Matthew 7:24-27) or the “wise one” who will know what to say only when The Lord grants it is time to say it (Luke 21:8-19).   Only Divine Wisdom can give us that measure of discernment.

Even this desire to serve and please The Lord, however, does not seem to be innate to every human soul nor will it always come easily to even the most devoted disciple because there is an ongoing conflict between the spirit of a person that seeks The Lord and the flesh of a person that seeks only its own gratification. 

If we try to pretend this conflict does not exist only because we think ourselves “saved”, it may also be said we are profoundly lacking in wisdom and are at extreme spiritual risk because in our humanness, we will always default to our most basic setting – the sustenance and pleasure of self.  It is a part of who we are and is the measure of what we must overcome to be fully connected to our Lord and to one another; fully sanctified, perfected in our faith in, and devotion to, Him.

It is written in the Psalms (111:10), in the Proverbs (9:10), and in the Apocrypha (Ecclesiasticus 1:14) that “fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom”.  It cannot be overstated, however, that “fear” in the biblical context does not mean to be “afraid” as we understand the word “fear”.  It is rather THE measure of respect, a profound sense of humility (Augustine) in knowing it ain’t about ‘me’, and the courage (Lewis) to trust that if we give ourselves fully to The Lord and withhold no part of ourselves, He will grant what we must earnestly learn to “seek” (Matthew 7:7). 

There is a caveat, though: we must learn – and we must teach - to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” … THEN “all these things will be added to [us]” (Matthew 6:33); “these things” we had previously wasted a lot of time worrying about.  It may well come to be “these things” we once worried about lacking will suddenly seem less important … when we get our priorities right.

What Solomon sought and earnestly desired above all things is affirmed by Jesus’ several lessons.  Before anything else – including perhaps faith itself – can begin to have any meaning, there must be wisdom; for as it is written in the Proverbs: “I [wisdom] walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, endowing with wealth those who love me, and filling their treasuries.  The Lord created Me at the beginning of His work, the first of His acts of long ago” (8:20-22) … “for whoever finds Me finds life and obtains favor from The Lord” (8:35) – just as the young king Solomon did.

We might be inclined to ask how wisdom affects salvation or whether we should be more concerned with getting saved than with acquiring wisdom, but I think reducing life in Christ to a mere either/or ultimatum misses the point and robs us of the full life we are created for and called into as we are freed from the old life that robbed us of everlasting meaning.  Only with wisdom can we even know what to do with salvation!

In the end, it is not only about being justified before The Lord; it is about “going on to perfection” (Hebrews 6:1), being holy, perfected, complete as He is (Leviticus 20:26; Matthew 5:48).  It is about being not only a disciple of Christ Jesus; it is about becoming an accurate reflection of Him.  This should always be our daily task and life’s ambition – “for whoever finds Me finds life and obtains favor from The Lord”.  Amen.