Wisdom comes in the ears, through the heart, and out the fingertips. This week, we explore the last step in the chain.
Put away from you crooked speech,
And put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
And your gaze be straight before you.
Ponder the path of your feet;
Then all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
Turn your foot away from evil (Prov. 4:24-27).
Hans Kylberg (2007), Creative Commons
The last step in the formula takes place when wisdom moves from the heart and out through our fingertips. These verses speak of “speech,” “talk” (Prov. 4:24), “eyes,” “forward,” “gaze” (Prov. 4:25), “ponder,” “path,” “feet,” “ways” (Prov. 4:26), “right,” “left,” and “foot” (Prov. 4:27). Solomon clearly has in mind everything we do, so I’ll use the image of “fingertips,” out of which seep our everyday choices.
Once wisdom changes who we are, it inevitably affects everything we do. As we listen to wisdom and seek it out, we must consider both how it can sink in more deeply (the heart) and how it can shape us more broadly (the fingertips). What would it look like for you to request help with your money, marriage, singleness, career path, parenting, cooking, hospitality, leadership potential, education, job performance, spiritual life, outreach, eating habits, hobbies, Bible study skills, love life, communication, decision-making process, and vision for life? In which other areas would you like to grow in wisdom? Where are you stuck in difficult situations or bad patterns? Remember: Wisdom has to come in the ears, through the heart, and out the fingertips.
It doesn’t matter what candidates for change you have in mind. It doesn’t matter if it’s a new skill to develop or an old habit to break. It doesn’t matter if there’s exquisite joy or agonizing pain. It doesn’t matter if your history is one of failure or of success.
What matters is that God wants you to change for the better, and he’s throwing the full weight of his resources behind the change movement. Jesus rose from the grave so he could make all things new. If you fear the Lord, you have much reason to hope for the best.
One of my children often used to say “I give up” when something was too hard. I say to you what I often said to that child: “That’s the one thing you must never do. Jesus didn’t give up on you. Let’s trust him, and see what he can do next.”
SNEAK PEEK:
We often struggle with the greatest shame and defeat in the realm of sexual sin. Many people feel stuck there, so in Proverbs 5, 6, and 7, Solomon provides a mini-series on wise sexuality. We’ll begin the series next week by applying some Bible dynamite to calcified cultural stereotypes about sexuality.
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