♪A Note of Thanks ♪
“God said, ask what I should give you?”...Solomon said, “Give Your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart.” (I Kings 3:5; 9) Amplified Bible
These past few weeks during Prayer Meeting and Sunday worship, Chris Crain has been teaching us about Wisdom, this past Sunday’s sermon was “Wise or otherwise,” with a picture on the front of the worship guide of a man with holes in his jeans (the style now), tattoos on his arms standing next to a church sign that says “The imperfect church” (with the “R” placed backwards in the word imperfect).
We’ve been studying about wisdom, God’s versus man’s wisdom. In I Kings chapter 3, Solomon hadn’t been king for very long when God appeared to him in a dream. “Ask what I should give you,” God said. Various Bible versions translate what Solomon requested as wisdom or an understanding mind or heart. But the actual translation of the Hebrew says Solomon asked for a “hearing heart” so he could judge between good and evil.
Ancient Hebrews thought that the heart was more than an organ that pumped blood. The heart was thought to be the center of everything physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual. So when Solomon asked for a hearing heart, what he really wanted was for God to help him in every aspect of his life so he would be a wise and faithful king.
Today, we commonly call this wisdom. The word wisdom has Germanic and Greek roots that combine ‘seeing” or “vision” with “way” or “manner.” So to have wisdom, or to be wise, is to be able to see the way, to have vision for the proper course of action.
But how exactly do we use wisdom? It is the ability to discern what is proper in times of confusion and difficulty; to see past the traps of life and find our way forward to the truth. Wisdom is a gift that is intended to be nurtured and used for the benefit of others. Wisdom is not locked internally within us but is to be externally focused on improving and positively shaping the world in which we live.
Like Solomon, we can have “hearing hearts.” This phrase is a dazzling one, isn’t it? Hearing hearts. In one sense of the word the heart refers to intelligent action as well as the power of thought and will. We can combine this meaning with our modern western notation of the heart as the seat of empathy and emotion. So hearing hearts can mean intelligence and wisdom combined with love and compassion.
And perhaps this is the true wisdom we should seek: Intelligence to know right from wrong and compassion to understand how our actions and decisions influence those around us. Without either one of these aspects, wisdom is not fully formed: Passion and logic; Heart and mind. In the combination of these two is the wisdom that we seek. Solomon used his heart in accepting and resolving difficult problems.
Wisdom invites us to be emotionally connected to those around us. Wisdom is not easy. Wisdom is not a simple tool or possession. It is something that is continually sharpened and strengthened, discovered and developed by learning from our own experiences, by learning from the lives of others and staying connected to the community of faith around us. So may you today seek and ask for God’s Wisdom. May you think with your mind. May you stay attuned to your emotions. And may you hear with your heart God’s Spirit. Amen.
As we serve along-side each other, I remain,
Your friend,
Mark David Jackson
