Developing Discernment with God’s Wisdom
I had a favorite necklace in high school that I never took off. I got it on a school field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It was a gold necklace with a small camera charm. In my junior and senior years, one of my favorite classes was photography; between learning to develop film using chemicals and being in the darkroom, the camera was a big symbol to me back then.
But because I never took the thing off, and the fact that it was costume jewelry, the gold layer rubbed off, revealing a cheaper-looking, coppery metal underneath. For a long time, I still wore it because I loved it, but eventually let it go, as it looked super beat up and other things grabbed my interest.
How Do We Deal With Sinful People?
When we talk about sin, there are some things that get more discussion than others. I’m sure you can fill in the blank there on the ones that are more commonly addressed. The thing I’ve noticed in studying through Proverbs this year is that Solomon writes about those obvious sins, but he also speaks on sins that are more subversive– things that we mistake as human nature or excusable or harmless.
Things like gloating over the downfall of someone we don’t like. Or being envious over the successes of evil people, dwelling on the perceived injustice of it.
Prioritizing Family Worship
Almost a year into our marriage, Sam and I bought a house. It was in coastal North Carolina, and it was much, much bigger than our tiny 1-bedroom basement apartment had been on Long Island. Because it was the tail end of Covid, and so many people were leaving New York for elsewhere, we had trouble finding a moving truck. There were literally none to be had anywhere near us and there weren’t any estimated to be for a long time.
So, we had the idea to drive our cars– packed as much as they could be– down to North Carolina, close on our home, and rent a moving truck from there. Then, Sam would turn around, drive the moving truck back to New York, get the rest of our stuff, before coming back down to our new home.
Gratefully Living Like a Christian
Does a bird reject its wings, wishing to take flight in any other way than the way it was designed to? Does a fish attempt to live underwater without its gills, breathing in some other way that allows it to work against God’s created intention for it? Does an elephant rebel against its being an elephant, trying to be a housecat?
No. All creation lives in absolute submission to the Lord. In Matthew 6, we know Jesus talks about how the sparrow doesn’t fret over where it will be fed. The lilies don’t struggle against blooming. They don’t worry over being a thistle or a rose. All creation embraces their place in God’s creation.
Letting God’s Wisdom Lead Us Down the Good Path
I’ve lived in some interesting places with some cool history.
I’ve lived on Long Island, where the Revolutionary War was fought and lots of that history is still being preserved. I’ve lived on the coast of North Carolina, where Civil War and pirate history is kept, including the wreck site of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, which was infamously captained by Blackbeard. I’ve lived and studied in Cape Town, South Africa, which still remembers Apartheid and is a melting pot of many different cultures.