Joy in the Toil

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.”

– Proverbs 2:1-8 ESV

Throughout the book of Proverbs, there is an admonition to seek after wisdom and heed the words of wisdom. There is a often a promise of God’s favor and protection for those who walk in wisdom. Additionally, there is often a warning against folly. Wisdom and folly are contrasted throughout the book of Proverbs. They stand in opposition to one another as two very different ways of living life. One acknowledges that there is a creator who created the world with purpose and design and recognizes that the best way to live in such a world is within the designs of the creator; the other rejects the will of the creator and chooses to obey its own desires and seek after its own will. However, there is an important distinction that must be made about wisdom. There is a difference between wisdom and commandments. While at times there is some overlap, wisdom most exists as principles that have rewards when followed, but commandments are expectations set by God that have punishments attached to disobedience. While there are often built in consequences to not following wisdom, ignoring wisdom does not always cross into the territory of sin.

This distinction between wisdom and commandments in scripture matters because the stakes are different. When we sin, we find ourselves in direct opposition to God. Sin requires punishment and as Christians, we must repent of our sin and ask for forgiveness when we sin. When we ignore wisdom, there are often built in consequences, but we do not always find ourselves in the territory of sin. For example, it is wise to plant certain crops at certain times of the year. If you plant at a different time, you have not sinned, but you will most likely yield a much smaller crop or no crop at all. The value of wisdom is found in the reward of living life within God’s intent and design. The wise person observes the world around them and takes advice from those with more experience than them, then makes choices that are rooted in knowledge of how the world works. Wisdom often requires the sacrifice of immediate comfort for the reward of long term pleasure and satisfaction. No matter how much we dislike things like eating healthy, exercise, limiting screen time, and saving money rather than spending it, if we chose not to do them, we will both suffer the consequences of our choices and not reap the reward that would have come with doing these things.

“If you go against the grain of the universe, you get splinters.”

– HH Farmer

As Christians, we are called to live our lives free of sin. We all fall short of this, but that shouldn’t stop us from continually pursing it. The reward of the forgiveness of sins is only available to those who are willing to repent of their sins and make Jesus the Lord of their life. The reward of wisdom is available to anyone who adheres to it. It is built into the way God created the world. As Christians, we must be careful not to elevate wisdom principles to the level of commandments. While it may be wise to avoid alcohol especially if you struggle with an addiction, drinking in of itself is not a sin. Jesus drank wine. However, there is a line that crosses into sin and drunkenness is a sin. Wisdom and commandments often exist very close to one another, but many times they are still separate and distinct. We will benefit tremendously from inclining our ear to wisdom, but we must be careful not to sell wisdom as something other than what it is. The value of wisdom is the reward promised to us when we follow it. The value of obeying God is relationship with him and eternal life. We serve a merciful God who reached down into our sin and folly and offered us a way out. We don’t have to be wise to be forgiven, and that is the good news of the gospel.

Photo by Simon Wilkes on Unsplash