How to live wisely
How do you know how to live wisely?
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
How many of you remember the game show from the late 90’s called, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”
The show first aired in the US in 1999 and it was a trivia show. The more questions you answered correctly, the more money you won, with the possibility of winning up to $1 Million!
Inevitably there would come a time for each contestant where they would have a question that they simply had no idea about. At that point, the stakes were high. Get the question wrong and they’re done! They would lose the chance to win a million dollars.
The game, however, did offer them some help if they came upon a question that they didn’t know how to answer. Each contestant had three Lifelines.
There was the Fifty-Fifty where out of the four possible answers, two of the wrong answers were removed leaving the contestant with two choices, one right answer and one wrong answer.
Then there was Phone a Friend where the contestant was able to call a friend and after reading the question, they had 30 seconds to get help from a friend of their choosing to decide on the right answer.
Then there was Ask the Audience. If the contestant wanted to, they could poll the audience. Everyone would take a little control pad and submit what they thought, whether the answer to the trivia question was A, B, C, or D. And then based on that feedback from the audience they could give their final answer.
But at some point, whether they used a lifeline or not, each contestant had to give a final answer to the question they were being asked. Get it right and they would get to continue the game and possibly win a million dollars. Get it wrong and it was game over!
Searching For Answers
We don’t live in a multiple choice world, but we are living in a world that is searching for answers.
We’re searching for answers as we continue to navigate the pandemic.
And we’re looking for answers as we raise our kids.
Many of us need answers as we try to hold our marriage together.
And we’re searching for answers as we’re trying to figure out how we move forward from here.
So what do you do when you don’t know what to do?
Live Wisely
If you’ve been tracking with us over the past few weeks as we’ve been talking about how we move forward from here, we’ve been dwelling in these words written by Paul to his friends in the church in the ancient city of Ephesus. Paul writes in Ephesians 5.15-20,
So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.
So what do you do when you don’t know what to do? Live like the WISE!
Don’t live like fools!
Now that may sound like strong language! Don’t live like fools! In fact, that might even be offensive in our culture… to tell someone to not be a fool. To call someone foolish. But Paul wants these people to understand there are two ways to live the life you live. You can choose the path of wisdom (Eph 5.1-2), or you can choose the path of foolishness (Eph 5.3-14).
Who are the wise? What does it look like to live like those who are wise? (Eph 5.1-2). According to Paul, the wise are those who imitate God. Those who follow the example of Christ and live lives of sacrificial love. This is what it looks like to live like those who are wise.
To be foolish is to be like those who live their lives according to the ways of this world. (Eph 5.3-14). Those who say yes to every whim and desire and sinful impulse.
Spiritual Wisdom
Paul says, you’ve got to be careful how you live. And it’s important for you to make wise choices, to live like the wise. Then he says…
Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
How do you do that?
For Paul this is what it means to live carefully. He means that we should live always practicing spiritual discernment. And spiritual discernment always asks the question, “What does the Lord want me to do in this moment?”
Given this situation, given the circumstances, what does the Lord want me to do? And those who are WISE understand that many times, what you want to do and what the Lord wants you to do may be two different things.
What you want to do may be to take the easy way out, but the Lord may want you to do the right thing which may be the hard thing.
You might want to do what makes the most sense on paper but what the Lord wants you to do doesn’t make sense on paper, at all, but makes complete sense as a step of faith.
You may try to avoid conflict, tension, and ignore pain. But what the Lord wants you to do may require confrontation, may make you uncomfortable, but will pave the way for healing, justice, and true peace.
Spiritual wisdom often leads us through discomfort into God’s vision for our life.
Overflowing with Worship
And Paul wants us to know that spiritual wisdom, wisdom that comes from a life filled with the Holy Spirit, that’s God’s intention for our lives.
He writes…
Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life.
Paul says this because he knows, in the city of Ephesus where people worship every kind of god you can imagine, that there are many who use alcohol to “get the spirit.”
But this kind of idol worship and religious practice that is common in the city should NOT be common in the church. All that will do, Paul says, is ruin your life! Paul tells them…
Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.
This is what wisdom looks like. It’s a life filled by and empowered by the presence of the Holy Spirit. It’s a life that overflows with song!
The evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit is a life that overflows with worship!
Giving Thanks is Wise!
And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is what WISE people do.
Wise people give thanks.
Wise people give thanks to God!
When we give thanks to God it’s a sign of ultimate wisdom because ultimate wisdom is born out of ultimate humility and ultimate humility acknowledges that everything we have is a GIFT from God.
Let’s Play!
So why don’t we close by playing our own game of, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”
I’ll ask you a question and give you four possible answers. The only difference is that, if you get the answer right, you don’t win a million dollars.
And just to make it a little more fun since we’re here at church, I’ll make the category, “Bible Trivia.”
Here’s the question: Except for Jesus… (I have to start the question with that disclaimer because if I don’t some wise guy will say the answer to the question is Jesus and they would be right because Jesus is the answer to every Bible Trivia question!).
SO, Except for Jesus, who was the WISEST person in the Bible?
Here are your four possible answers:
A. Moses
B. Solomon
C. James
D. Balaam’s Donkey
OK… before I ask you for your final answer, does anyone need to use a lifeline?
You’ve got 3 lifelines.
With the 50/50 I can remove 2 wrong answers and leave you with the right answer and one wrong answer.
Then there’s the Phone a Friend where you can call, or maybe text, a friend if you need some help.
Or, you can Ask the Audience. But you are the audience. So I’ll just let you ask your friends who are around you if you need a little help.
How about I give you all 3 lifelines because I’m a generous host on this version of, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” where no one wins a million dollars?
Go ahead and talk to those around you if you want to discuss the answer.
Go ahead and text or call a friend if you want to ask someone you know what they think the answer is.
And… I tell you what, I’ll go ahead and take away 2 of the wrong answers.
It can’t be Moses because, as wise as he was at times, he wasn’t wise enough to make it into the Promised Land. No doubt, he’s in Heaven with Jesus. But for the purpose of this question will take his name away. And, it can’t be Balaam’s Donkey. He was a wise… donkey. But the question was who was the wisest “person.” So, the answer can’t be a donkey.
Now, you’re left with two possibilities, Solomon and James.
Final Answer?
Do you have your final answer?
If you know Solomon’s story, (1 Kings 3), when he began his reign as the son of David, the King of Israel, God approached him in a vision in the middle of the night and God said you can have anything you want, just ask and I will give it to you! Can you imagine!?
And do you know what Solomon asked for? Wisdom. He could have asked for health and a long life, for wealth and prosperity, or for his enemies to be defeated, but he didn’t.
He asked for wisdom and an understanding heart to lead God’s people!
So God said, I’ll give you the wisdom you asked for and I’ll give you everything you didn’t ask for! I’ll give you health and a long life. I’ll give you wealth and prosperity beyond measure. And I’ll give you freedom from and victory over all your enemies.
And when people ask the Bible trivia question, who was the wisest person in the Bible, they almost always answer, SOLOMON.
But Solomon was NOT the wisest person in the Bible.
He could have been. God gave him that gift. If you read the rest of Solomon’s story in 1 Kings 11, Solomon turned his heart away from God. He married wives from other countries who worshiped other gods and Solomon himself turned his heart to worship those other gods.
Because of this, God would take the kingdom of Israel from Solomon’s family. With all the wisdom of God at his disposal, Solomon was not “careful in how he lived.” He turned his heart away from God and fell in love with the ways of the world.
The Wisest Person in the Bible is…
James is another story. James was the half-brother of Jesus. Imagine that? Actually growing up with the Son of God as your brother! We’re not sure when it happened, but at some point James came to believe that his brother really was the Son of God.
I don’t know for sure, but in my imagination at some point Mary sat down with her other kids and said something like, “Let me tell you why your brother Jesus is a little bit different.” And at some point, maybe after the resurrection of Jesus, James believed that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah.
James was a leader in the early church. Tradition tells us he had a nickname. They called him “Old Camel Knees” because he spent so much time in prayer on his knees to God that he had callouses on his knees.
As a leader in the early church, it was James who stepped up in wisdom to make the most important decision that faced the early church. Could Gentiles be a part of the church of Jesus Christ without becoming Jewish? Could those who were far from God come home to God without becoming like them, like the Jews, first?
In this moment, James surrounded himself with wise, spiritual leaders. He had spent hours and hours in prayer and allowed the Holy Spirit to fill his life. And, he was attentive to where the Holy Spirit was already moving in this situation.
And do you know what James said through the power of the Holy Spirit in his life? He said,
“… my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.” – Acts 15.19
Through the process of spiritual discernment, with a heart full of wisdom, James made a decision that forever changed the church. And, by the way, changed how leaders in the church make difficult decisions.
That WISE decision in the middle of a broken world and a fractured church pointed everyone to JESUS!
If you ask me, James is the wisest person in all of scripture!
What do you do when you don’t know what to do?
When you don’t know what to do, surround yourself with wise, spiritual people, seek the counsel and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, look to see where the Holy Spirit is already moving, and then have the courage to do what you believe the Holy Spirit is leading you to do. This is how you move forward in wisdom.
When you do, your decision to live wisely in the middle of this broken world will also point others to Christ!
Need Wisdom? Ask!
James would later write these words, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” – James 1.5
So if you need wisdom today, ask God.
If you’re wondering what to do next, ask God.
And if you don’t know what to do, ask God. Then wait. And trust that God is working while you’re waiting. Believe that at the right time you’ll know what to do.
If you don’t know what to do, phone a friend. A wise, spiritual friend. If you don’t know what to do, ask God to close some doors, give you a 50/50 chance. Ask God to surround you with a community of believers you can ask, confide in, and get godly counsel from. We serve a God of unlimited lifelines. If you need wisdom, just ask!
Your decision to live wisely in the middle of this broken world will point others to Christ!
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