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Ably wise 

Thinking about your wisdom as a help for your community

This woman is not prepared to let her home city, its inhabitants nor its reputation be destroyed.

 

What the Bible tells us...is that real wisdom comes from God.

 

 

Renowned for wisdom?

Are you renowned for wisdom? Do people say, “I will go and see [your name]” when they have some problem to sort out? Do they think, “I am glad I spoke to [your name] about that thing that was troubling me”?

Get answers

There are many people who pop up in the Bible whose names we will never know. One such woman appears in a story in 2 Samuel ch20 v14-22. The story its self is not so much what I want to direct you to but what we learn about the woman and the city she lived in. Verse 16 tells us she was a wise woman and she lived in a city called Abel Beth Maacah— a city renowned for being a place where people get the answers for their problems from its wise and peaceful inhabitants.

In this story the city is under siege because an enemy of King David has taken refuge there. This woman is not prepared to let her home city, its inhabitants nor its reputation be destroyed by one wicked troublemaker (ch20 v1) who is trying to usurp the king.

Real Wisdom

We have no way of knowing whether this was a godly woman because the Bible does not tell us. What the Bible does tell us in many places though is that real wisdom comes from God. In fact Scripture tells us that Christ Jesus has become God’s Wisdom for us (1 Corinthians ch1 v30). This verse goes on to say, “that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” So, from where do we get our wisdom? We get it from having Christ Jesus in our lives. You might not think you are wise but if you have Christ Jesus then you are! God has poured His wisdom into Jesus and we have the Spirit dwelling in us, therefore we have God’s Wisdom. We can’t say to God, “Give me more wisdom” because He doesn’t have any more to give us. We already have it all—what you need to do now is start to use it.

Fundamental need

I don’t think it would be wrong to say that when people are seeking a path of wisdom through their problems what they need is God’s wisdom. Don’t forget what our Corinthians verse says that means; what people need is God’s righteousness, holiness and redemption in their lives. This is not over- rating their real need in their problematic moment. People fundamentally need Jesus. They do not recognise this though.

We must present God’s wisdom and show them that this is a real solution to the problems of life.

 

Our community

What is our part to play in our community’s moment of need? We must present God’s wisdom and show them that this is a real solution to the problems of life. If your life is full of problems which overshadow Christ in you rather than lead you toward Him, then make seeking His wisdom your top priority for your life today. Your community needs Christians with God’s answers modelled out in their own lives. And you need that too, by the way.

Our lives and words need to be patiently presenting Christ as the answer to our world’s needs. We must keep re-presenting the message. We must gently speak and live wisdom. The woman in the 1 Samuel 20 passage says that people used to say “get your answer at Abel”; how about praying for your name to be renowned for wise advice and life changing answers?

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This article © Linda Faber 2006-2009.