I can see clearly now!

Okay, don't get me wrong, but whenever I hear someone talk about their 'chakra', I get a little creeped out. I am not at all into, nor have I explored, the Eastern religions. The 'spinning wheel' of energy points just doesn't cut it for me. The fact is - my first and only spiritual energy source is God. I have other energy sources such as the food I eat and the sleep I manage to sneak in each night. There are lots and lots of religions out there that proclaim truth - promoting some type of 'wisdom' of the ages. The fact remains - there is but ONE truth, ONE true God, and ONE way into his presence. If I want more light or illumination in my life - I turn to the one who made it!

There's nothing better than being wise, knowing how to interpret the meaning of life. Wisdom puts light in the eyes, and gives gentleness to words and manners. (Ecclesiastes 8:1)

There are books upon books written about finding "meaning in life". Some are clearly just reporting ways we might improve our "self-image" or engage in positive "self-talk" that will bring some type of "meaning" into our life. The opportunities to consider what brings "meaning" into one's life vary as much as the quantity of books on the bookshelves of our "self help" sections of the local bookstore or library. There are lots of opportunities - but as our scripture points out - God's wisdom is the best.

Wisdom gives us perspective - it gives us a vantage point from which to view life in such a way that we make our choices for action based on the "view" we have attained. Let me break that down. If we view a troubling circumstance such as an unanticipated debt from the vantage point of fear, we will panic at the possibility of damaging our credit or not being able to pay it off. If we view that same unexpected debt from the vantage point of faith, we might ask for help from the one we owe the debt to structure manageable payments over a longer period of time in order that we might pay the debt without fear of losing our good credit standing.

A "vantage" point is simply that which gives us a view that we might call "the 10,000 foot view". In other words, we see things from a bigger perspective than just the thing immediately in front of us. We often hear this referred to as the "big picture" view of a situation. Our vantage point determines our perspective. If we allow wisdom to become the basis by which we make choices in life, we will have a better vantage point than if we live by impulse or "whatever feels good" mentality.

Wisdom puts light in the eyes. Wherever we direct our focus, we will find that object is reflected in our eyes. That is why the Word reminds us that the eyes are windows to our soul. If our focus is on Jesus, the eyes will reflect the possibilities of faith. If our focus is on self, the eyes often reflect the hopelessness of self-effort. Perspective is determined by our vantage point - at best, self will struggle to accomplish the same thing that faith can accomplish by simply trusting. Wisdom also gives gentleness to words. Words are often a solid indicator of our focus or perspective at the moment. Having a gentleness to our words is an outcome of having a right perspective in life. Harsh words, or words that focus on the problem instead of the possibilities, are often based on being "internally focused" in life. We only see things from our vantage point, not the vantage point of another - and certainly not the vantage point of Christ. Therefore, words are reflective of what is best for us, what elevates us, what makes us look or fell good. They are often far from gentle (kind and loving).  

Wisdom gives us gentle manners. Manners is just another way of referring to behavior. Wisdom affects our behavior. Our vantage point determines our choices - if we have a "big picture view", we often make different choices in life.

Wisdom is really all about perspective - where we place our hope, what it is that we trust in, and how we either embrace or reject input into our lives. If our perspective is in Christ, our vantage point will always give us the best insight that will ultimately produce/result in the best for our lives. If we think we have a "good" vantage point and then end up being overtaken by our enemy, we really did not have much of a "vantage" point in the first place! We need the benefit of a "solid vantage point" in life. There is no other vantage point better that we will find than when our focus is solidly on Christ. Just sayin!

Back in the day...

15 It is God’s will that your good lives should silence those who foolishly condemn the Gospel without knowing what it can do for them, having never experienced its power. 16 You are free from the law, but that doesn’t mean you are free to do wrong. Live as those who are free to do only God’s will at all times. (I Peter 2:15-16 TLB)

I know the moments seem to be magnified these days when someone chooses to do something so wrong it just cannot help but make headlines. The actions of a few make the lives of many a living nightmare. I was talking the other day with my BFF about how different it is to grow up today. We reminisced about the times when we grew up - running from sun up to sun down with the neighborhood kids - likely no emerging from whatever 'play' was at hand until we were called for supper. The mischief we managed to get into was indeed 'child's play' and we didn't live in fear of our lives. We went to school without having to carry bullet-proof backpacks, or experience the repeated 'active shooter' drills. Our 'drills' were those designed to get us all lined up neatly on the playground while the fire alarms blared signaling it was prep in case we had any type of 'explosion' in the chemistry lab from an experiment gone awry! We didn't dream of package bombs and we didn't kill ourselves because we were made fun of on social media. Our form of 'social media' was the playground talk at recess or over the lunchroom table when the 'cool kids' huddled together to talk about the hand-me-down dresses we 'uncool kids' might have had on! I wonder where we really started to 'go wrong' as a society. Some may postulate it was Rock-n-Roll, or those pot smoking hippies, or even the protests of the early sixties for human rights and women's lib. It matters not where the turning point was - it matters if we can reach a turning point today - back in the right direction!

Live as those free to do only God's will at all times. There are a couple of imperatives in this command. First, we are to live - not just exist in some semblance of what might be called 'life'. We are to really live as though all of the day matters - as though every action is important. Second, we are to live as those who are free - not to do whatever pleases us, but with consideration of what pleases God first and then what honors our fellow-man second. Freedom has been taken to extremes by some, while others still only dream there might be some freedom for them somewhere at some time. There are many kinds of 'bondage' (lack of freedom) beginning with the condition or state of our souls and going on from there. Nothing matters as much as the condition of our soul - for that soul which has never experienced the grace and forgiveness of their Creator has not really experienced any great sense of freedom at all! Lastly, freedom is an "all the time" kind of thing - it isn't now and again, but consistently lived out in our daily lives. Freedom comes because we live according to the will of God 'at all times' - not just when the urge hits us, or in 'pockets of society'. Live at those free to do - not free to be - but free to do. There is a purpose to our freedom - it is to do the will of God at all times. Some equate freedom with the will to do as they please whenever they please, but the will of God is to override our will - especially when that freedom of will leads us down a path other than the one he would have us choose.

We live free, not as powerless creatures, but as those who have experienced the ultimate power - that of our Creator's hand and heart. Power doesn't come in our actions, but in the actions of Christ coming through us, touching the lives of those around us. Those hungering for power need to realize any power other than the power of Christ pales in comparison - it will be lack-luster when held up to the light and majesty of his power! Power doesn't come when we take advantage of others - it comes when we put them first. It doesn't manifest itself in the actions of 'advantage', but in the actions of love. If we seek for an advantage in life, we will likely find any advantage we obtain is soon lost because others are seeking for the place of advantage equally as hard as we are! There is no greater place of 'advantage' than in the arms of Christ - for his 'advantage' comes in the form of grace, compassion, love, and true freedom. Just sayin!

Principle 21: Know Your Advantage

Ever heard two kids square off in the play yard with words resembling, "My dad can beat your dad any day"?  What is going on when they announce this confident statement is a little bit of one child trying to prove something - that he or she has an advantage.  Advantage is something we have been trying to "get" ever since we breathed our first breath.  It is any opportunity or circumstance we can "work our way" to that will ensure success or a particular desired end.  Every time we took the little toy into our tiny clutches and proclaimed, "Mine!", we were taking or proclaiming the advantage.  Each time we postured so as to say, "Don't mess with me", we were posturing to declare we had some advantage.  I remember learning some hand-to-hand combat maneuvers in the military, somehow thinking knowing the maneuvers would give me some advantage over another if the situation arose.  Ummm...I doubt if I would have any advantage over a black belt in karate, though!  Why? What I was putting my faith in as "advantage" was pretty unreliable! Advantage is really not in what we possess or what we declare to be at our disposal - it is in what becomes an ingrained, worked-in, practiced part of our daily lives.

It’s better to be wise than strong; intelligence outranks muscle any day.

Strategic planning is the key to warfare; to win, you need a lot of good counsel.  (Proverbs 24:5-6 MSG)

Advantage is really determined by things other than military might or the size of your muscles.  If we take to heart the advice of Solomon today, we begin to realize the advantages we have in this life are entirely because of who and what we know.  We have the wise counsel of scripture - giving us an advantage over those who rely upon their own devices to get through in this life.  We have the determined tutelage of the Holy Spirit in our lives - giving us the advantage of receiving immediate feedback before any decision is made.  We also have the excellent advice of wise counselors - those in the faith who have walked where we walk today and have learned a thing or two along the way.  Advantage is in who and what we know - and the way knowledge is a powerful tool in our hands is when we put it into practice enough to know it is tested and true.

To win, you need a lot of good counsel - not just one word you will hang your hat on.  I cannot tell you the times I have just listened to the first voice that came along and found myself "burned" in the end.  Either thins turned out miserably for me, or they just kept getting worse as time went on for all of us who bought into that voice.  This tendency to get "burned" with the over-reliance upon that "first voice" without the advantage of putting that "voice" to the test with the things we know really give us the advantage simply gets repeated time and time again if we don't learn to step back and seek the wisdom of the counselors we have been given.

There is much wisdom in not just listening to the first voice we hear.  I even ask God if it is him I am hearing!  I don't think he is affronted by me asking, though, because he knows I am really saying I don't want to just go into something blind - I want him with me!  In time, I begin to recognize the voice of my Lord, but at first, I may question if it is him.  Why does time make a difference?  In time, I learn how he speaks, when he speaks, what things he values and directs my life toward, etc.  It comes by spending time with him and listening to the counsel he gives through is Word, sound biblical teaching, etc.  It develops a set of trusted principles in my life which I can refer to when considering the next step I should take in life.  In other words, I have a set of "counsel" principles which I know to be wise and trusted - foundational to my life.

We can go a long way in this life with "true advantage" when we are determined to allow the counsel of the Lord be the guiding influence of our lives.  Just sayin!