Zeal, Wisdom and The Role of Knowledge

I am neither zealous nor wise.  I’ve lost the youthful zeal of my teens and early 20’s.  It died a painful death.  At the age of 33 I am still to young to be regarded as wise.  I’m more zealous than some, yet others are more.  I’m wiser than some, and not yet wise to others.  Not fitting neatly into categories, perhaps standing on middle ground I will try to examine both sides.

Chances are an old man will tell you wisdom is better than zeal but a young man will quickly argue the opposite.  To often the young mistake knowledge for wisdom and suffer for it.  Yet the aged equate years with wisdom.  American culture loves everything new and the shiny except wine, while many other cultures value tradition, thinking the older the better.

What role does knowledge play in all of this?  To often I’m afraid the young confuse knowledge and access to information as wisdom. In the age of smart phones and digital technology, that moves information faster than a speeding bullet, everyone has the power of knowledge at their fingertips. Producing in us a false sense of wisdom. Let’s not forget that smart phones don’t make smart people and they won’t ever make us wise.

I remember a sign hanging on walls of my alma mater’ which read, “Knowledge comes from college but Wisdom comes from God.” I never forgot that simple sign. I believe God values both wisdom and zeal equally and the person that gains both is blessed.

The role of knowledge is significant and can enhance or erode our wisdom and zeal.  An excess of knowledge causes everything to appear grey; leading us to value man more than God and the result is that we begin to fear man more than God. This is a good definition for folly. But what does the Word say? For it contains more wisdom than a thousand scholars. 

The Bible says that knowledge puffs us up, making us think we are greater than we are. Knowledge is a tricky fellow even for the experienced.  It can also deceive the grey haired causing them to believe they are wise then pride creeps in. The Pharisees are perfect examples of the danger of desiring knowledge more than wisdom.  In their zeal to keep the law they missed the one who fulfilled the law. Knowledge is something we must master so that it enhances our wisdom and zeal so it doesn’t erode them.

What is Biblical Wisdom? In his book, “Knowing God” J.I. Packer defines wisdom as, “The power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it. It’s the practical application of moral goodness… For us to be truly wise our intelligence and cleverness must be harnessed to a right end.” Wisdom helps us know how and when to apply knowledge as well as knowing when to withhold knowledge for the sake of others.

Solomon was a man that desired Wisdom more than anything else and God was so pleased with his desire that he gave it to him. Solomon became arrogant and disobeyed God and wasn’t willing to be corrected which lead him to ruin.  David on the other hand was also wise and when he disobeyed God and was corrected he repented thus God blessed him.

What is Biblical Zeal? Every revolution throughout history was motivated by zeal.  Some brought healthy change others were crushed. David wrote: “Zeal for your house consumes me.” The word used here in the original biblical language means a holy jealousy.  Moses killed an Egyptian for abusing a slave.  Moses’ zeal was human and therefore impure. A crime fueled by jealously in the bad sense. Peter’s zeal led him to make promises to Jesus that he couldn’t keep.  His zeal was the type of zeal defined in Romans 10:2-3 that is no based on godly knowledge.

I think our tendency is to think that we can have either wisdom or zeal but we can’t posses both.  I’m learning that we need both, and in fact they go together like Salt and Pepper.  Our zeal for God leads us to a deeper relationship with him, who gives wisdom freely.  And as our wisdom increases it increases our zeal for God. Wisdom increases zeal and zeal increases wisdom they feed each other.  A quick reminder, there are godly versions of wisdom and zeal but there are also human or counterfeit versions.  We want to pursue the former.

I once heard a wise old preacher talking about the church and he said, “We need the zeal of the youth to keep the fire burning BUT we also need the wisdom of the elders to keep the youth from burning the place down.”  His statement made me smile at the time and it’s true. So how do we keep the zealous from ignoring wisdom and how do we keep the wise from snuffing out zeal?  I don’t know except that humility and mutual submission seem like good places to start.  

Encountering Aliens

I recently found myself willingly taking a job that I normally wouldn’t have applied for.  With the economic dip I’m confident that I’m not the only one who is currently underemployed.  In fact, I realize that having any job at all is a reason to be thankful. And so I am. 

Before I had a job I was complaining about not having a job and not being able to access people.  Which was a hard transition for me having just moved home from Africa where I spent all of my time connecting with people.  The American way of life doesn’t allow much space or time for developing new relationships.  We are just to busy.  I realized that in order to access people I needed to break into the system and get a job. 

After two months of sending more than 40 applications and resumes into cyber space I finally received a call for an interview.  It wasn’t my first choice in jobs or my second or even my 10^th choice, but I was relieved to realize that my resume found it’s way to an actual human being, slightly boosting my confidence in technology.

You know your underemployed when the interviewer carefully reads your resume looks at you with a bewildered look on their face and asks, “Why do you want this job?”  In my head I was thinking, “That’s just it, I don’t want this job.” But I managed to eek out a more acceptable answer about how I liked to clean.  And in spite of being overqualified I was hired.

By this point in my job search I had surrendered to the idea that God is in control and that he would place me in the job that he wanted me to have.  Although in my heart I envisioned a totally different job than the one I was now needing to accept.  I decided I could respond in an arrogant and ungrateful way or I could humbly suck it up and get to work. I chose the latter and it’s made all the difference.  After all when God is in control life becomes a delightful adventure.

I’ve been working now for over a month and I have discovered a whole new world.  I believe that God has placed me in this job to encounter people I wouldn’t normally encounter. I rub shoulders with people from all walks of life and many different nations.  It’s exactly what I was looking for, an evangelistic playground or sorts.

I currently work with Indians from Fiji, Koreans, Chinese, people from Eastern Europe, African Americans, Mexicans, Ethiopians, Tibetans and Caucasians.  On my first day of work the lady training me looked at me and said, “I am an immigrant, I know how to work hard, very hard.”  I think she was implying that I didn’t look like a hard worker.  How do you respond to that?  This immediately sparked my competitive nature and I was determined not to confirm her assumptions.  Then she said something that went straight to my heart.  “Don’t despise this job, this job paid for my four children to go to college.”  Wait a minute, was God was speaking to me through my pagan co-worker? Yup!

As the day progressed my hard working immigrant friend proved to be a good trainer and I quickly caught on to my new assignment.  By the end of the day I think she became a bit more confident in my ability to work hard.  While we worked together I was determined to discover as much about her as possible.  I learned she is an Indian but came from Fiji, the descendant of slaves.  She is naturally intelligent but untrained.  She has been a wife for over 30 years and the mother of four successful children who have advanced college degrees. I learned she was a devout Hindu and fasts twice a week.  By the end of the week we were friends and she even shared her Chai tea recipe with me.  2 bags of Red Label tea per cup, boiled with grated ginger, clove and cinnamon to taste strain and pour in sweetened condensed milk to taste.  Amazing!

Another co-worker of mine is from Ethiopia.  She is married and has a daughter.  Her husband and her were high school sweethearts in Ethiopia. But both of their families left Africa due to war.  She moved to Italy and then Canada with her family where she reconnected with her childhood sweetheart and they were married.  Together they decided to move to the US.  Her husband now has a transport business and she works with me.  Some day she would like to go back Ethiopia to visit because she misses her friends.

 

Last week I met a new friend who is from Mexico.  She came to the United States to study English for a year and then she planned to go back home to graduate with a degree in chemical engineering.   While she was here she met an American guy who was fluent in Spanish and they got married and had a daughter.  Here family was furious because she was supposed to return to finish her degree and start working.  Now her husband and her are separated but she can’t go back to Mexico because they have a shared interest in their daughter.  So for over a year she has been a housekeeper even though she's six months away from graduating with a brilliant future in Mexico.  Things are not always as they appear.

I want to challenge you to walk into work tomorrow with a new goal, and a fresh perspective.   Why has God placed you in the position you are in?  You are a strategic part of His plan to revel himself to people who don’t yet to know him. Who are you there to pray for, influence and befriend?  Your job is not just about paying your bills.  Paying your bills is a bonus or bi-product of your job.

If you are unemployed hang in there, don’t get discouraged.  God has a plan, he is the ultimate headhunter and he has a strategic place for you too.  Don’t be surprised if it looks different than you envisioned.  Trust him he is our provider.

Everyday when I walk into work I enter the mission field.  I am encountering nations and generations of people I wouldn’t have encountered other wise.  The attitude and the way I work helps me earn peoples respect and friendship which allows me to influence them in a way that leads to LIFE.  Work can be a delightful adventure.  

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, which is in Heaven. Matthew 5:16

(The Bible has a lot to say about foreigners, strangers, aliens, hired workers and temporary residents here are a few references to get you started: Leviticus 25:6, 23, Jer. 22:3, Ez. 22:29, 47:23, Zach 7:10, Mal. 3:5, Mat. 25:35, 38 and Luke 17:18.)

CHANGE

How many times have you come across a tip jar at your favorite coffee shop that has a hand written paper sign attached to it encouraging you to leave a few coins behind.  The most common one I’ve seen goes something like this, “Fear change? Leave it here.”  To which I reply in my mind, “I like change, and not just the round metallic kind.” I then grab my extra foamy latte and head back out into the world without leaving a tip.

Life is full of change, bad, many times unnoticeable other times for good.  The moment we’re conceived we begin to change.  In fact if you aren’t facing change your dead.  I read a quote today that illuminates this topic today, “The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.”  Spoken by Harold Wilson former British Prime Minister during the 60’s and 70’s.  For the purpose of our discussion today I am editing Mr. Wilson’s quote to say, “The only human institution which rejects progress is the church.”

 

The discussion isn’t whether or not the church is a “human institution”.  For the record, I love the church in all of its expressions and believe it’s God’s model, but that is another entry waiting to be written.  Today we need to look at change as it pertains to the church and why we the church are so reluctant to embrace it.

Change in the church isn’t a new topic.  In Acts Chapter 6:11-14 we see Stephen accused of promoting change and it costs him his life.   Why was the reaction of the current church leadership so violent in its opposition to healthy change? 

A wise musician once sang, “The key to change… is to let go of fear.”  Fear is an enemy of change.  There are healthy types of fear that keep us from sticking our hands in a campfire and there are unhealthy fears that control us and keep us from living life abundantly.  God reminds us “Perfect love cast’s out fear” and Paul reminded Timothy, “You were not given a spirit of fear…” The fear of change is an unhealthy fear when it comes to the church and one that leads the church to decay and die.  Still, some of us are stubborn enough to cling to the attitude that “Change is bad.” And we insist as W. Edwards Deming did that, “It's not necessary to change.  Survival is not mandatory." 

Life is full of change, bad, many times unnoticeable other times for good.  The moment we’re conceived we begin to change.  In fact if you aren’t facing change your dead.  I read a quote today that illuminates this topic today, “The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.”  Spoken by Harold Wilson former British Prime Minister during the 60’s and 70’s.  For the purpose of our discussion today I am editing Mr. Wilson’s quote to say, “The only human institution which rejects progress is the church.”

I don’t think that God wants to replace anyone who is willing to work with Him.  He does desire for us to abide in him so that we remain moldable and responsive to the prompting of his spirit.  The only time we see people replaced, so to speak, is when they outright refuse to submit to Spirit led change.  God’s plan will not be stopped by our stubborn refusal to change.  And according to advertising executive Bruce Barton, “When your through changing, your through.”

Discomfort is another reason we avoid change.  As Americans we go to great lengths to avoid discomfort.  Most of the innovations in the past 100 years are focused on efficiency and comfort.  Last week as I was flying across the US and I was bored, so I dug into the seat pocket in front of me and pulled out the “SKY MALL” catalogue.  It’s full of all sorts of contraptions to make my life more comfortable.  Blankets with sleeves, alarm clocks that gently encourage me to wake up.  There were even fancy stepladders to help my old dog climb into bed with me, all of which my minimalistic missionary heart found unnecessary.

In my previous life (life before missions) I was a public school teacher.  And it’s not uncommon in the world of education to find old teachers who are unwilling to adapt.  They have developed their system of teaching, more for survival than success, and are unwilling to incorporate new techniques no matter how effective they are.  Adapting to change and including new methodology causes discomfort and it takes more energy and thought because it requires learning and real work.  Let not the church be lazy, instead let's be willing to work to wrestle and strain leaving it all on the field as we labor alongside the Lord of the Harvest.  Try to embrace Spirit led change.

The proverbial winds of change arise again with each new generation as they seek to practice their faith in a way that’s relevant to them.  George Bernard Shaw expresses perfectly the complaints the next generation has in regards to the church,   “The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me.  The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.“   We the church, could learn so much from the wise tailor who understood that he needed to take new measurements.  We can’t expect the next generation or culture or subculture to fit the current model of church no matter how attached we are to it.

I realize this is difficult for some, for we simply love the now decaying model of church.  After all it worked for me and I turned out all right.  Right?  Nostalgia can get in the way of Spirit led change.  As the French poet Anatole once lamented, “All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.”  Are you willing to leave a part of yourself behind to discover a new facet of God and life and church?

 

Although our God is unchanging he is a God of change.  He has changed my heart, mind and my future.  He is anything but dead and our lives and churches must reflect that. Navigating change requires greater intimacy with God and that always produces lasting change in our life.  Sometimes we are unable to budge our circumstances but we can with God’s help transform how we think and respond to all of life’s changes. “Change” it’s more than a political campaign slogan it’s a reality.  Embrace it or your as good as dead.