REFLECTIONS

January 19th, 2014

…encourage the young men to live wisely. And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.

Titus 2:6-8 NLT

Living Wisely

Kenny stood before his peers and told of his recently departed friend. The age difference between them did little to impair the depth of their friendship. It probably strengthened it. Kenny had learned so much from Tom over the years, so much about the Bible, so much about God, so much about people, so much about life. Kenny might say that Tom added a touch of wisdom into his life.

The Psalms tell us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.” (Psalms 111:10) And there are numerous other references to the importance of wisdom throughout the Bible. Paul’s letter to Titus urged him to encourage wise living and Titus might have wondered what wise living looked like. Just what is wisdom and how does one live it?

Webster defines wisdom as: (a) accumulated philosophic learning—knowledge; (b) ability to discern inner qualities and relationships—insight; and (c) good sense—judgment. So, Webster might describe living wisely as the use of good judgment based on insight and knowledge. But perhaps Paul had a slightly different version.

In the Bible, wisdom is not so much associated with knowledge and understanding as it is to behavior. Fear of the Lord is to respect God, for his holiness, his power, and his infinite love. But the Bible tends to identify wisdom with choices people make more than the words they speak. And it is not just what they do. It is what they do in relation to God’s truth. Wisdom is revealed in choices that conform to God’s will.

So, when Kenny recalled all his friend had taught him, some of the lessons may have come from spoken words. But the powerful lessons came from choices he lived. Kenny expressed his gratitude to God for allowing Tom to be a part of his life. Now through Kenny, Tom’s wisdom lives on. And the chain continues. From Paul, Titus learned to make wise choices, and he passed the lesson on to hundreds of others, who passed it along through the generations until it came to Tom.

From Tom, Kenny learned to live wisely. Many are watching him. And there are many watching you and me.

People may hear us speak of principles to live by. But there is no integrity in our words unless we also live them.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org


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