On being a Wise Man

    My church is doing a live nativity for the first time this year. It will be tonight and tomorrow night from 7pm-9pm. I signed up to help and am going to be a wise man. I've joked a lot about it, about being a natural for it etc., and also gotten some ribbing about it. The truth is, I will definitely be playing a part. No typecasting going on here with me. I'd be more suited to play the donkey... the KJV donkey. No need there, as we will have live animals.

    We read in the Bible that God offered a young King Solomon anything he wanted, and Solomon picked wisdom. There are examples of how wise he was, and he was renowned for being wise. You have to wonder though if he exchanged the gift for something else later in life. All joking aside, it was far from wise to take 300 wives and 700 concubines.... for more than one reason. On the serious side, he married foreign wives who brought their gods with them. O

     The Bible says a lot about wisdom: (New Living Translation)
Job 15:3 The wise don’t engage in empty chatter. What good are such words?

Job 37:24 No wonder people everywhere fear him. All who are wise show him reverence.

Psalm 19:7 The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

Proverbs 19:12 If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.

Proverbs 10:5 A wise youth harvests in the summer, but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace.

     And there are many more. Imagine what our lives would be like if we truly practiced wisdom:

In what we say
In our spending habits
In voting (a lot of professing Christians failed majorly there last month)
In how we use our time
In choosing friends
In our worship
In how we live from day to day

     I feel far from wise. Contrary to popular belief, I do not say everything I think. If I said everything I think, I'd be friendless, kicked out of my church, and probably sitting in a prison somewhere. I definitely need wisdom in when to keep my mouth shut, but I leave a lot unsaid that I think. :-)

   James 1:5 says "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." (NJKV) I have asked God for wisdom...... I truly have, but He either didn't give it, or it just didn't take. Maybe that is something that should be on our of our Christmas wish lists this year: wisdom, and super-size it for me. I need a lot of things. I need a good job, my own place, self confidence, money, more time in my day, a better relationship with God..... the list could go on, but wisdom should top the list. If a person is truly wise, it seems a lot of other things would fall into place. Take Solomon..... he was extremely wealthy, and it seems that was a by product of his being wise. Well, he was wealthy until he had to keep 1000 women happy. I can't help but believe that if I had been wise all along, how differently my life would have turned out. I might still be single..... what truly wise man would marry? (just kidding ladies)

   Tonight as I walk into the stable that has been built in front of my church, I will stand and gaze upon a baby doll in the manger. That baby doll is lifeless, and just a representation of the best gift this world ever received, and it would be pointless and useless, not to mention insane, to bow and ask that baby doll for anything. But we call all ask that baby who grew up to die for us, for what we all need more of: wisdom.

    I will put on my wise man outfit, complete with turban or crown this evening, and again tomorrow night, but it will not be a wise man walking up to look upon a baby doll in a manger. No my friends, it will be me, playing a part, but it will also be me wanting and seeking wisdom.