The Wisdom devotional series comes to a close with a conversation between Pastor Jon Nitta and Pastor Josh Reasoner about gaining wisdom from those who are further along in life or experience. Wisdom is community project.
The proverbs note that the wise life is the one in which a person holds their tongue. Ancient Christians practiced silence as a discipline because it reinforced the value of their words and helped to make them more thoughtful about how their words were used. Silence is a neglected discipline today, and perhaps it’s time we resurrect it.
As this devotional series comes to a close, Jon explores two final topics. Today it’s friendship and how friendship is connected to God. There are friendships that are simply about fun and friendships that are about achieving something together, but both of these are deficient because they don’t nurture our hearts and souls into deeper closeness with God. We all need those kinds of spiritual friendships in our lives most of all.
As this devotional series comes to a close, Jon explores two final topics. Today it’s friendship and how friendship is connected to God. There are friendships that are simply about fun and friendships that are about achieving something together, but both of these are deficient because they don’t nurture our hearts and souls into deeper closeness with God. We all need those kinds of spiritual friendships in our lives most of all.
In the last week of the Wisdom in Uncertain Times devotions, Jon considers what Proverbs has to say about friendship. There was a time when friendship was held in extremely high regard. Less so today when we are encouraged to rely on ourselves first. And yet, the bonds of friendship reveal to us the beauty of other people.
Jon sums up the conversation about seeking God’s will today. The last step is talking to other people. For that, we need people who love us enough to speak truth, even when it’s hard. And then, it’s time to make the decision.
An open door? A sense of peace? What are we looking for when we seek God’s will? Maybe we need to ask a different question. What’s going on in my heart that is getting in the way of God’s working in me?
Elizabeth Eliot once wrote that we do not come to God asking for advice; we come to him asking for his will, and following his will is not optional. When we thinking about wisdom as making the right decision, we make it too small and narrow. Wisdom is pursuing God's will. And in doing that, we become wise.
Wisdom, from God's perspective, is so much more than you making the right decision. While we're focused on the end point, where he is at work IN THE PROCESS. One day at a time, one decision at a time, we become wise as we consider what is the will of God in this?
The Bible applauds the pursuit of knowledge. It leads people to love God and others more. Information gluttony – curiositas for you Latin buffs - that’s something else. A good thing taken too far is not good anymore.
The psalmist of Psalm 73 didn’t resolve his problems with envy until he went to the sanctuary of God. Worship is how we confront and solve any of the vices because in worship you declare that there is someone of optimal beauty and goodness IN YOUR LIFE. Have you ever had that kind of heart-melting experience in worship?
Envy, or coveting, can be so hidden within the human heart that God made a law about it so people would know to look for it in themselves. In many ways, we turn envy into a good thing. We call it ambition, making something of yourself, or getting ahead. No matter how you paper over the motivations of the heart, the truth is, every one of us covet.
Why is envy so serious? More than other vice, envy tends to be hidden; it’s secretive, sometimes so much so that a person can’t see it in themselves. And yet, to be accused of it is a direct assault on one’s character. No one wants to be seen as petty. More than that, no one wants to BE petty.
Pastor Jon takes on envy, “the great leveler” as Dorothy Sayers called it. “If it cannot level things up; it will level them down.” Envy asks the question, “Why not me?” It is more than wanting something that someone else has; it’s getting angry and resentful that they have it.
Lust, like all the other vices, can attach to your spiritual life. When you chase the feelings that sometimes come with being a Christian, especially from worship, you have your desires disordered. It’s not God you love, it’s the feeling you get from worshipping him. And so, what happens when you don’t get the feeling anymore or in the same intensity?
Most of the time, people associate lust only with sex, but if you consider the whole of the Bible, lust can apply to many good things. It’s this overzealousness for pleasure. Lust is a desire for anything – a natural, good desire – pursued in the wrong way at the wrong time with the wrong strength.
Gluttony in your spiritual life? What?! Like every other vice, gluttony can attach to your spiritual life when you keep chasing highs and experiences that make you feel a certain way. What we really need is more of Jesus.
The writers of Proverbs take gluttony seriously. Good gifts should lead you not to gorging yourself on them but rather to the good Father who gave them. It's a mistake to equate gluttony only with food. There are so many things you can overconsume until you’re sick to your soul.
Anger attaches more easily to our spiritual lives than we think. The question is what are we defending? How is our ego getting poked even in our relationship with God and with other Christians? Sometimes there are deep crevices in our hearts where we’re still locking out God’s love.
“He who is slow to anger is mighty” (Proverbs 16:32). Is all anger wrong? As with everything, we need wisdom to know what is worth our anger and how to wield it in ways that are godly and effective.
