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Seeking the Wisdom of God
Psalm 1
I was always
inspired by the serenity prayer by Reinhold Niebhur, “God,
grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to
change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference”. According
to theologians, the book of Psalms is a much fascinating prayer book,
which was the Hymnal of the Israelites, rich with poems on ethics, life
styles, and decision making. It is a book with heavenly wisdom. As many
of us know, wisdom has to do with living life consistent with God's
covenants and a key concept of the Godly wisdom is the fear
of the Lord. Psalms and proverbs provide us with such
covenantal standards that can greatly keep us in check. Psalm 1 is no
exemption. Psalmist warns us to keep away from the un-Godly, to keep a
clear distance from the people who have conformed to the standards of
this world. The pressures of the modern world reveal our inability, and
our great need for emotional and spiritual help. We were given the
scripture, where Godliness is presented positively and it fully
enlightens us if we savor it and then walk in it.
During my childhood years, my grandmother and later my mother insisted on
learning a few of the Psalms by heart, the beginning ones being Psalm 1
and Psalm 23. I am sure many of the traditional Christian families
insisted on such Biblical homework that clearly helped us to lead a
fruitful life in many aspects. I was always fascinated by the history of
those whom the world tagged as “wise men” What happened to those great people?
Even more, what happened to those experts in the Scriptures? What
happened to the ones who thought they have all the answers? This is where
we realize the meaning of the verse “…wisdom of this world is foolish”.
What Mahatma Gandhi has stated is of relevance here, “It is
unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded
that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.”
God chose to save the ones who believe the foolish message we Christians
preach. From my teen years, I clearly remember a blind man from my
neighborhood in Kerala, who used to walk to the junction and stood and
preached from the Bible. Although very simple in style, his sermons were
very inspiring, and I was often touched by his messages. Being blind, he
did not see the faces of the people, nor the number of people who were
listening to him. To a passer-by, it was probably a scene that did not
add much value to his/her behavior, but to some who cared, the blind
man’s words were words of wisdom.
We ought to change our mentalities from nominal Christians to practical
day-to-day Christians with a fully established Christ-relational
lifestyle that require humility, spiritual wisdom, and prayerful walking.
Let us pray consistently and seriously to our Lord to provide us the
humility and readiness to accept and understand His wisdom and convert
from worldly to Godly enlightenment.
PRAYER
Dear Lord, be gracious to me and grant me the wisdom to
fulfill your purpose in my life.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing we desire
can compare with it.
Dr. Eapen Daniel, Christos MTC, Philadelphia.
Christian
Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church
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