“Wisdom
calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public
squares; at the
head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateway of the
city she makes
her speech” (Proverbs 1:20-21).
I
have
never known what to do with the book of Proverbs. How do you teach a book that
is mostly a
disjointed grouping of short sayings? Also,
in the passage above, why is wisdom personified as being alive and
calling to
people? Why is wisdom out
in the street
and in the public square? What
is God
trying to say?
Here is what I have
come up with: Wisdom is on
the streets and in the
marketplaces because God’s teaching is to be lived every day!
Over the years, the
church has
made a big deal about hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17), but
that is not
enough. From beginning to
end, Proverbs
teaches that God’s wisdom is to be put into action. It is supposed to shape how
we treat one
another, how we conduct business, how we spend money and every
other part of everyday
life. Wisdom is not
something to discuss.
Rather, it is something to do!
Not surprisingly,
the New
Testament continues that theme. Hebrews
4:12 says, “The word of God is living and active”. The word lives because it is
“God-breathed” (2
Timothy 3:16) and Spirit inspired (2 Peter 1:21), but also because
it is lived
out in the lives of God’s people.
Unfortunately, for
too many
Christians, there is virtually no overlap between their church
life and their every
day life. These are two
completely
separate worlds made up of two separate groups of people who never
meet or
cross paths with one another!
We must create the
overlap! We cannot sit in
our church buildings and wait
for our friends to come to us. Instead,
we must learn to live our teaching in such an attractive way that,
as Jesus
said, “They will see your good deeds and praise your Father in
heaven” (Matthew
5:16). We must deliver the
love of God
to those around us so that they can see it and be changed by it
too.
After all, that is
what Jesus did.
“The word became
flesh and dwelt
among us” (John 1:14).
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