Sunday 27 December, 2020

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. 18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; 20 and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” 21 So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

When it comes to wisdom for life, I need guideposts and benchmarks. As a parent I need the wisdom of other parents in order to improve my parenting. At work I need the wisdom of others who have walked the paths I am walking so I can grow. I regularly benefit from wisdom shared by people who may not be Christians. I don’t think this passage is suggesting that I block my ears to the advice of anyone who is not a Christian. But when it comes to bedrock wisdom to build my life on… I need God’s wisdom. I need God’s wisdom to filter through into my parenting, working and relationships. This wisdom comes through habits of prayer, reading the Bible and spending time in church. These are the most common places God shares his wisdom.

God, you promise to share your wisdom with me if I seek it, I want to make seeking your wisdom a habit.

Written by Andrew Mellor