My neighbor, along with probably every other homeowner in Southeast Wisconsin on this sunny Saturday, is out doing yard work. She and her husband are the kind that rake the snow off their roof--and the poor folks are stuck living across from us. Though we've worked diligently this week on our own yard and it looks fair to middlin', when I watch her pulling weeds I have to peer over some of my own. My husband, who was out early with a full e-Calendar for the day, will no doubt ask me how I spent this morning. I'll tell him: "Waiting for wisdom."
That should be a good conversation starter.
Hold up, all you Marthas, and give this at least temporary Mary a hearing. My defense, ladies and gentlemen of the jury (hubby included), is this--I have been going after something more precious than gold or greenbacks in the only way it can be achieved: by not going after it.
I was reading in I Corinthians this morning where Paul spends a good deal of time showing that "God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never find him through human wisdom. . ." (1:21a). Now, as an English professor, I'd like to suggest that human wisdom has its merits, and I'm not out to dismiss those. Yet I would like to point out that there is another kind of wisdom--spiritual wisdom--and that it is not only different in nature, it is attained differently.
Human wisdom works; spiritual wisdom waits. Most of us have been trained from childhood to pursue answers. From Grandma's advice to Google, our personal success thrives on taking the initiative to gain knowledge. But, much like genuine love, the wisdom that comes from above refuses to be tackled head-on.
Human wisdom is based on reasoning; spiritual wisdom is based on revelation. It is a gift from God that is given only to the patiently receptive, to those who quiet their heart, their mind, their effort. It is Spirit-breathed.
Human wisdom feels self-satisfied; spiritual wisdom feels vulnerable. To revel in the gift of spiritual wisdom is to open oneself to accusations of "foolishness." It is to affirm that your own smarts won't do you a lick of good in such a realm. It is to let go of human control, to gain your own soul.
So, wait just a minute. Or five. Or fifty. You'll find it to be a wise investment that pays eternal dividends.
