Quiet Devotions is a daily devotion based on one of the readings from the Daily Lectionary (as it appears in the back of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Augsburg Fortress, 2006). All biblical quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) unless otherwise noted. May these devotions help bring you in closer relationship with the Triune God.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Year B, Easter 3, Wednesday


Inspired by Proverbs 9:1-6

“‘You that are simple, turn in here!’  To those without sense [Wisdom] says, ‘Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.  Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight.’”  Proverbs 9:4-6

There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom.  Foolish people can know a lot of things because knowledge, if not applied properly or well, can amount to no more than the ability to recall certain facts.  Wisdom, however, is a way of life.

Wisdom can be acquired with or without formal education and with or without knowledge of various facts.  Wisdom is an outlook, a way of interpreting the world, and a way of interacting with that world.  Those who are ‘simple’ or ‘without sense’ react moment to moment, rarely looking beyond their own immediate concerns and comforts.  They have little understanding of the long-term consequences of their actions.  But wisdom has something better to offer.  She too is able to address your immediate concerns and comforts, as well as the concerns and comforts of others, today, tomorrow, and into the future.  Her rewards are much longer lasting than those that simplicity has to offer, and her ways result in a much more peaceful and harmonious world.

Regardless of the circumstances of your life, where you were born or what station you hold in your culture and society, wisdom is calling out to you.  Whether you choose to adopt her way of life and walk with insight, or remain simple and stagnated is up to you.

Let us pray.  God of wisdom, you desire the world to live in peace and harmony.  Enable us to lay aside our immaturity and embrace wisdom as our way of life, that we may walk in your ways, cognizant of the interrelationships of all your creation.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

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