Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square. She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in from of the city gate .... Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise. I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention .... But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm. Proverbs 1:20-21, 23-24, 33
Have you ever heard wisdom shouting in the streets? Have you ever heard wisdom crying out in the public square? Have you ever heard wisdom calling to the crowds along the main street? It was said earlier in the week that Proverbs takes the multi-faceted thing we call life and zeros in on many of its facets. Today's Proverbs passage could easily have said that wisdom shouts, cries, and calls in the living room, the kitchen, and the bedroom.
In one sense today's Proverb passage is saying that we need to pay attention to all the facets of life and apply true wisdom to each and every one of them. However, in another sense, our passage is more than just an appeal for true wisdom to be applied to each facet of life. There really is a sense that wisdom speaks to us in the midst of the nitty-gritty details of life. Yes, the book of Proverbs zeros in on the many facets of life and gives us the wisdom we need, but, as we also said earlier, it does so in terms that put God right in the center of things.
Something beautiful happens when we give God the center place of our heart, soul, and mind. We begin to "see" him in the center of everything. Wherever we are, whatever we are engaged in, whoever we are with, we will see God in the midst and he will speak his wisdom to us. He will guide us and bless us with a wisdom that is both practical and spiritual. We will see that the dichotomy of secular and sacred is a myth. We will no longer be counted among those who "wouldn’t come" and "paid no attention." We will be counted among those who "come and listen to my counsel" and with whom "I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise." There is an urgent need for us to "listen to wisdom." If we do so fully and completely, we "will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm."
Lord, forgive me for all the times I wouldn't come and didn't pay attention. Continue your work of transforming my heart, soul, and mind, so that, more and more, you have the center place. Help me to see you in the midst of everything. Speak your wisdom into every aspect of my life and grant that I become more and more aligned with the practical and spiritual intentions you have for my life. Amen!
