Editor’s Note: The AMI QT devotionals for June 8-14 are provided by Philip Chen, who oversees the college ministry of Church of Southland.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
1 Kings 4:34 (ESV): And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
The late pastor Adrian Rogers once told the story of a boy who was sitting under an oak tree, looking at a watermelon patch. He said, “You know, if I were God, I wouldn’t put those great big watermelons on those weak little vines, and those tiny little acorns on that big oak tree. That seems backwards to me.” A little while later, an acorn fell and hit him on the head, and suddenly he was glad it wasn’t a watermelon. How great is God’s wisdom even in this comical situation!
What is wisdom? A lot of people misunderstand knowledge to be wisdom. There is the assumption that your intelligence is correlated with the amount of wisdom you have—that could not be further from the truth. Knowledge is the understanding of a principle or action, but wisdom is the ability to see the importance of a principle and apply it into your life. You could be knowledgeable about many things and still lack wisdom. Many of us operate out of a place of knowledge only. We know what to do and how to do it, but we haven’t grown in the wisdom of applying it to our lives, nor have we grown in the wisdom of understanding the depth and significance of things.
An example of wisdom is having the correct perspective of your life; that is, having an eternal perspective is one of the pillars of wisdom. Knowledge is not enough when it comes to simply knowing the brevity of our life and the importance of the Kingdom of God. Wisdom is what will really transform us into people who will live a life with eternity on our minds. Before we apply the wisdom of investing in heavenly treasures rather than earthly treasures in this lifetime, it is simply a knowledge that produces no fruit. Wisdom is a matured knowledge that will lead to fruitfulness and the blessing of God in our lives.
Many people actually lack wisdom and need to turn to those who have wisdom to share. That was the case when Solomon was king—and it is still the case now. When we see someone with wisdom, our automatic reaction is to latch on to them and ask them to give insight on our lives. But James 1:5 teaches us that none of us need to live without wisdom: If we lack wisdom, we can ask God, who will give it abundantly to us. No longer do we need to go to “kings” who have been gifted with wisdom to receive direction in our own lives. We have received the Holy Spirit, who will give us wisdom in abundance if we simply ask.
When was the last time you asked for wisdom in your life? Is it something that you ask for constantly or only when you have an important decision in your life? As we grow as children of God, let us not only grow in knowledge, but also in wisdom, which we know is a gift from God. Ask God to give you wisdom daily and trust that He will give it to you generously!
Prayer
Father, we trust that You will not withhold wisdom from us if we ask for it. We want to be a people who are characterized by wisdom, just like King Solomon was. We ask for a double portion of wisdom so that we may live our life rightly on this earth. Thank you for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. May we continue to seek Your wisdom in our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Philippians 3
While the wisdom of God displayed through Solomon in this story is certainly one to behold, I thought it would be interesting to look at this story from another perspective. Indeed, God is just and in due time, justice will be given to His people, but behind it we also see an important lesson—the light that is shed on darkness.
Have you ever played the ice-breaker game “Desert Island’? In this game, you are trapped on a desert island and need to think of three things that you would want to bring to this island that you will be on for the rest of your life. In a sense, this shows what the desires of our heart truly are. In a way, God asks Solomon this question as well – What would you like me to give you?
As I was watching the movie Selma, I was struck by what a difficult position Martin Luther King Jr. must have been in as he pioneered the Civil Rights Movement. In the movie, many important decisions needed to be made, including the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. In one scene during a peaceful march, he kneels down and prays, then makes a decision to turn back, despite pressure to move forward. What a difficult decision to make!
There is an Aesop’s fable of a foolish donkey that had an idol strapped on his back as he was led through the town to deliver the idol. All of the people who saw the idol would bow down in respect and worship. After a while, the donkey believed that it was he that the people were bowing down to in worship. One morning, when the idol was not strapped on his back, he wandered into the towns, expecting to be worshipped by the people. But no one even gave him a second glance. In anger, he demanded worship by those around him, but soon found out that he was, in the end, just a donkey who was undeserving of worship.
When I was a child, I loved inventing new games with new rules. What was most enjoyable was that I would always win because I would set the rules to benefit me. Many of us did this and think we have moved on from this, but believe it or not, we still do this as adults. We tend to blame the postmodern culture for the moral decline, as what is “right” becomes increasingly subjective in our society. But wanting to set our own rules for our lives is not new; it is something that is inherent in us. However, when we are the ones in charge of making the rules for our own lives, we are set on a course of self-destruction.
My friend Young (not Pastor Young) has the best “most embarrassing” story. It was near the end of his senior year in high school, and his school was having their senior awards ceremony. The award for most accomplished student was being presented, and Young was absolutely sure he was going to get it. The principal started describing the accomplishments of the actual winner by saying, “We are so proud of the work and dedication of this young woman…” However, my friend who again was so sure he was the winner of this award only heard “young” (his name) and proceeded to walk onto the stage. Could you imagine how silly he felt upon walking up to the stage to receive his award only to realize that it was for another student? I love this story, but I get embarrassed for him when he tells it.
In the English language the common idiom, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” points to an idea that once a person has reached a certain age, he or she cannot change by giving up the old ways to learn new habits, ways of thinking, skills, etc. In other words, as you get older and more set in your ways, you become less teachable, and more stubborn. Although I have never been particularly fond of the idea conveyed by this expression, I do have to admit that I have found it to be incredibly true. In fact, most people I’ve encountered to whom this idiom holds true aren’t even that old. I can’t tell you how many people in their 20’s and 30’s I’ve talked to who do not heed good advice or who have surrendered into a resolve of, “Hey, this is who I am, and I will never change.”
I purchased my wife’s engagement ring online. As I opened the Fed-Ex envelope it came in, I was pretty nervous. Sure I did my research on the four “C’s” of diamonds (clarity, cut, color, carat), but practically speaking, I didn’t really know what any of that stuff meant. For example, an “F” color rating is supposed to represent a “colorless” diamond; however, I was still a little scared that my wife’s diamond would bear a slight resemblance to yellow snow. Mercifully, upon arrival, everything was perfect (or at least as perfect as could be expected at my price point). The ring glimmered, the proportions looked right, even the box it came in had an elegant look and smell to it.