Wisdom in Oz

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; John 16:7-16; Romans 5:1-5

Central Baptist Church, Lowesville, VA

03 June 2007

Proverbs tells us that wisdom cries out in the streets, seeking those who will listen. We are more comfortable with the idea of people crying in the streets, looking desperately for wisdom and the ordering of their lives. Our current age believes truth to be little more than an illusion. We seem to have little sure footing for our living. In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy struggles her way to Oz, only to find that the Great Wizard is no wizard at all. Is there a wisdom worthy of our confident acceptance? Can we rely on God’s wisdom to direct us through life’s uncertainties?

In the Ancient Near East, there were those who worshipped wisdom as a goddess. The Greeks sought after wisdom in such a way. In this book of wisdom we find a different take on wisdom’s true nature. Here in Proverbs, wisdom is still personified, yet she is cast as one of Yahweh’s servants—a participant in God’s work of creation as a tool in Yahweh’s hand. As such, wisdom is a servant of God, striving to teach and lead humanity into the fullness of life according to God’s design.

While wisdom is a goal, it is also an offering that God is willing to give to those who would take the direction that God offers. Proverbs mentions how Yahweh offers wisdom to any and all, yet most would pass right by the offer, seeking some alternative direction or fulfillment out of life. We ignore God’s understanding of creation and life in order to devise our own priorities and direction. Our natural tendency is to decide for ourselves what is good, beneficial, or provides for our needs. All the while, God’s wisdom cries out for our acceptance, freely offering direction and guidance.

We act as though it were difficult to find direction. We pretend that it is hard to find our way in life. We live as though we must make it through life on our own. All the while, God offers wisdom to guide us through all of life’s uncertainties. Is it so hard to accept the wisdom that God offers so freely? Do we really believe it unwise to trust God to provide fully for all our needs?

In Philip Roth’s Everyman,^[1] the main character goes through life with no defined sense of guiding wisdom, whether from philosophy, religion, or tradition. While Roth offers no critique for such a life, it is also a life with little sense of purpose, meaning, or direction. In facing issues of declining health and death with no sense of eternity, death looms with an utter finality. Roth rules God out of life’s picture as irrelevant or non-existent. Do we accept God’s wisdom as sufficient direction for living? If not, have ruled God out any less than Roth?

Jesus spoke of the work of God’s Spirit being contrary to the aims and direction of the world. As he discussed God’s provision for the disciples beyond the moment of his own death, he reminded them of God’s continued action through the promised Advocate. Jesus was about to be killed because of contrary priorities, aims, and values. Humanity would display in the crucifixion that our sin cannot abide God’s presence, refusing God’s sacrificial love as a way of life.

Confronted with the immediacy of God’s will, we put Jesus to death to silence God’s call to a higher righteousness and wisdom for living. We prefer attempting to control our world than submitting to God’s control. We prefer caring for our own interests, rather than classing such as sinful. We prefer acting as though Jesus did not teach true righteousness, defining his words as too impractical for the harsh realities of the real world. We prefer living as though the power structures of this world have found the right answers and means to proper living. As others seek power and advancement, can I accept the superiority of God’s love?

We recognize the milestones of graduation today. We remember that our graduation celebrations speak both of accomplishment and commencement. Graduation is the culmination of effort, yet it is also transition to a new beginning. We celebrate our youth’s learning and preparation for life. We recognize their efforts and accomplishments. We also recognize that learning does not end with graduation, for life continues to lead us through opportunities for learning and growth. Perhaps the greater value of education has little to do with school curricula, and much more to do with the processes of character development. More difficult to grade and score, it is the character of our living that will determine our truest successes in life. Life is about much more than the amount of knowledge with which we fill our heads. Life requires the wisdom of appropriate response to the stresses of daily living. Do our responses to life’s upsets display growth in character?

Paul reminded the Roman believers that confidence in Christ Jesus is the true venue for being made right with God. It is in accepting God’s way and submitting our lives unto God’s will and direction that we gain access to grace in Christ. Righteousness is not about our accomplishments. Grace is not about our beliefs, knowledge, or deeds. It is about our confident submission to God’s wisdom for living.

Paul adds that our confidence in the grace of God in Christ Jesus gives us grounds for boasting and rejoicing. It is not boasting about ourselves, but about what God has done and will do in our living. In the wisdom of God’s way of living, we are enabled to share in revealing God’s character, as well as understanding and accepting that the suffering and setbacks we face in life are part of our becoming the children and heirs of God we were called to become. Our suffering is productive, as we submit our lives to the confidence of faith. God produces in us the character of Christ Jesus. In our character development, we find the realization of a worthwhile hope. It is in this living, hoping, and learning that God’s love is completed in our lives. Can we prize this divine wisdom enough to learn from life’s tougher lessons?

In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy finds herself in need of direction. She is lost in a land she does not understand, amid creatures who do not behave as she deems appropriate. She desperately desires to return to the safety and comfort of home, but does not believe it within her grasp. She places her energy into a journey to find the Wizard, who might send her on her way home. While the Wizard is unable to help, he does not tell her so. Only after facing various dangers is she to find that along with her friends, she has everything she needs in her own grasp. All they need has already been provided. The only thing they lack is the wisdom to recognize their gifting and accept their provision with confidence.

God has likewise endowed us with all that is necessary for full and meaningful living. God provides wisdom willingly and openly. God in wisdom provides for all of our needs, even those things we believe we truly lack. Do we have the confidence to trust God’s wisdom to direct our living? Is God’s will that we offer humble righteous service sufficient direction for our lives? Will we accept the wisdom God so richly provides, or will we simply ignore it as non-existent or useless?

—©2007 Christopher B. Harbin

¹ Philip Roth. Everyman. Houghton-Mifflin Company: New York, 2004-06, 2007.