Proverbs is one of the Books of Wisdom in the Bible.
I was recently reading the introduction in my Bible to the book of Proverbs. I came across a sentence in the summary that really caused me to pause and ponder. ” The book of Proverbs teaches that God gives people a divine wisdom, but there is also a divinely given human wisdom, or common sense, and both must play a part in daily life.”
If common sense is a divinely given human wisdom, what is going on with our society? I mean, let’s face it, common sense seems to be in short supply these days. How has that happened? The answer is anyone’s guess, but perhaps the further away we have drifted from God, the further away we get from God inspired wisdom.
We know God is just, right? I can’t imagine Him sanctioning a jury verdict where a homeowner gets sued when a would be burglar falls through a sky light while trying to rob him or a corporation getting sued because their coffee was hot. Isn’t coffee supposed to be hot? The list of our innate desire to obtain things we didn’t rightfully earn, is close to limitless.
If we dig a little deeper into the common sense issue, perhaps it comes from the human belief that we are entitled. The word entitlement is the complete opposite of the teachings of Christianity. The definition of entitlement is: the fact of having a right to something.
As Christians, we openly accept and proclaim that we don’t deserve anything. We don’t deserve forgiveness or material things for that matter. Our sinful nature earns us death. However, and this is a BIG one, Jesus’ willingness to die for us gives us a reprieve. We are covered in grace and therefore forgiven.
Through grace and only through grace, are we able to approach God and ask for what we need and even what we want.
Because of Jesus, we have access to the amazing Holy Spirit and all of his gifts and fruits. He gives gifts like, the message of wisdom, special knowledge, great faith, the gift of healing, the power to perform miracles, the ability to prophesy, the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit, the ability to speak in unknown languages and the ability to interpret what is being said. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
Then there are the fruits of the Holy Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23
These gifts and virtues seem to go hand-in-hand with Godly wisdom and divinely given human wisdom. So maybe, if we would like to see a return of “common sense,” to our culture, we should return to God. Like the story of the Prodigal Son, he’s always thrilled when the lost come home. Perhaps it’s time to stop “leaning on our own understanding,” and leaning into God.
I mean, the attempt to live without God at our center doesn’t seem to be working out so well, but hey, that’s just my opinion. I’d love to hear yours.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂