And...

Sometimes I feel the weight of the companion;
Am I doing too much?
Am I just being selfish?
Am I doing too little?
Distracting me from what is truly love.

And...

Sometimes I feel the weight of frivolity;
Did you hear?
Do you believe that?
Isn't that funny?
Distracting me from what is truly joyous.

And...

Sometimes I feel the weight of education;
When will I get it done?
Should I study more?
Will I do well enough?
Distracting me from what is truly worthwhile.

And...

Sometimes I feel the weight of the Savior;
How can I be holy?
Does He really love me?
What is His will?
Distracting me from what is truly salvation.

And...

On Wisdom and Folly

[There will most likely be nothing you haven't heard before in this note. I am writing as I think about it, and chances are it might even be pretty incomprehensible. But I do not come with lofty speech or (worldly) wisdom, but with the Spirit: if you can glean anything out of reading this, to God be the glory!]

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10)

We face countless decisions in the days of our lives. What brings us to them? What determines our final choices of action? As is obvious and yet somehow enigmatic in detail, the answers to these two questions should set Christians apart from the rest of the world.

First, as to what brings us to the forks in the road. The ever-familiar Romans 8:28 tells us that "for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Paul tells us here, it seems to me, that these decisions that we face--each and every one--are tools of God leading to our sanctification. We are not to take them lightly.

James confirms this in the beginning of his epistle.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. [...] If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach. (James 1:2-5)

According to a sermon I heard recently, these "trials" James mentions probably have to do with internal struggles, even with doubts, and not so much the physical ones that we commonly associate with the word. Whenever we are confronted with a decision--big or small--having to do with the direction of our lives--for the rest of our time here on this Earth or just for today--we should treat it as a test, a chance to "prove" our faith. There is no such thing as coincidence, our roads are not set by nature's chance. Thus, in all actions, we should seek God's wisdom.

This wisdom answers the second question: it is what guides our decision-making. But what is this wisdom? Two passages come to mind.

The first is in Psalm 51. King David, having committed a great sin and grieving over his fallenness, tells us

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. (5-6)

David, here, contrasts his original sin at birth with God's truth and wisdom. Apparently wisdom keeps us from sin. But is there more? With God, always.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:22-25)

Here Paul contrasts the wisdom of the world ("the Greeks") with the wisdom of God. And what is this wisdom of God? The sacrifice of His own Son! Wisdom is both what keeps us from sin and Christ's own glorious death. It is through Jesus that we have the ability to rid ourselves of sin. Yes, we are cleansed of our sin in that Jesus' righteousness is counted to us, but that is only half of the wonderful truth! His sacrifice also gives us the power to triumph in the battle against the flesh that Paul describes in Romans 7.

This joyous news is also sobering. The temptation to use our own worldly wisdom even in spiritual matters always haunts us. This wisdom, the opposite of God's wisdom, is sin. But do not despair, God gives generously! Let us follow the example of James, and ask Him in absolute humility for wisdom. Let us then follow the example of Jesus, and study the Scriptures, which leads to wisdom (Luke 2:52). We have the Spirit. We have the fear of the Lord. Now, let us have wisdom! Let us have the folly of the world! Let us remember Christ's sacrifice.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according the power at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.