THE REWARD AND DANGER IN WISDOM

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Mockers stir up a city, but the wise turn away anger.

If a wise person goes to court with a fool, the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace.

The bloodthirsty hate a person of integrity and seek to kill the upright.

Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.

Proverbs 29:8-11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

This trip through the Book of Proverbs has been an incredible journey. It began back in August of last year, an amazing nine months ago and since that time we’ve meticulously savored each and every word of wisdom offered like someone savoring each bite of a good meal. Indeed, Proverbs is not something one wants to consume quickly but rather enjoy and relish, allowing the Lord to nourish from the inside out with His guidance and direction.

Throughout this journey, we have been provided a steady dose of wisdom and if we don’t understand its benefits by now, we never will. But perhaps one thing has yet been left out, a thing we had better keep in the back of our minds as we allow the Lord’s wisdom to be our own.

For as there are rewards that come with wisdom, so too are there dangers. You need not go any farther than these four verses from the 29th Chapter of Proverbs to realize that:

Mockers stir up a city, but the wise turn away anger.

If a wise person goes to court with a fool, the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace.

The bloodthirsty hate a person of integrity and seek to kill the upright.

Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end. Proverbs 29:8-11

In these verses, we find the following caution embedded:

There are some people in the world that would love to harm someone who has wisdom, even kill them.

Wow.

We don’t think about this, do we? People seem to always speak to us about the merits of having discernment and prudence and perception but they tend to not mention that there are also associated perils that come along for the ride. And if you want to doubt this as a Christian then you have overlooked what happened to the man who saved you, the man Jesus who gives you your identity.

Jesus was perfectly upright. Jesus was perfectly wise. Jesus displayed perfect integrity in the way He lived. And yet, Jesus was falsely accused, treated with injustice, beaten, and murdered through crucifixion.

Here’s the kicker. He warned us that the same would come for those who would believe and trust in Him as Savior.

And so it is today in many parts of the world. In the midst of religious freedom in America, we lose sight that many of our brothers and sisters in Christ in other countries face severe dangers for the cause of Christ. Many are persecuted, many are prosecuted unjustly, many are assaulted and abused, and yes, many are murdered, martyred for the gospel that Jesus called us to carry to all. And even in America, we seem to find our religious freedoms under attack and fading in many areas.

The warnings in the Proverbs are still very alive, well, and active more than 2,000 years later. There is danger in wisdom because there is inherent danger with following Jesus.

Now, all this would seem overwhelming and discouraging if it weren’t for the contrasting rewards of wisdom. We’ve looked at so many of them over nine months.

Wisdom only comes from the Lord and so when we seek wisdom regularly, we commune with Him.

That wisdom from the Lord leads us to walk the path of righteousness and not in sin and wickedness. And when we walk the path of righteousness, a path paved with discernment and divine understanding, then all that we do is all that the Lord wants us to do. In other words, our life is driven by His will and way and word.

Oh yes, and let’s not forget the protection that comes in the way of wisdom and the Lord who grants it to us. For since walking in wisdom is akin to walking with the Lord, then we are walking in safety and security. We need never walk in fear, even in the face of all the dangers that wisdom brings because He is with us.

But wait a minute. If we’re so protected, why do Christians end up dying for the cause of Christ? Aren’t people that are walking in righteousness, dying every day at the hands of the evil and the wicked just like Jesus did?

The answer of course is yes. But if we simply look at protection from a worldly perspective then we miss the greatest reward gained from wisdom, the reward of salvation. For when we turn fully to our Savior Jesus, the One who is the way and the truth and the life, fully receiving and applying His perfect wisdom to our lives, then we gain access to the God, His Father and ours. In other words, death does not end our life but only ushers us into an eternal life free from the dangers we faced in our worldly lives. We will truly be set free and be free forever, still communing with God and Jesus but doing so face-to-face and what a glorious time that is going to be.

Friends, yes there are perils associated with wisdom and the Jesus who brings it to us but they pale in comparison to the incredible rewards we gain. For no matter how difficult and dangerous life might become for a Christian in this temporary worldly existence, nothing that happens, even death, can take away our salvation promise.

No matter what comes our way, in Christ we always have the victory. The best is yet to come.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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