A Wise Lesson From a Humble Deacon
I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment. All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech. Proverbs 8:12-13 NLT
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It is impossible for a truly wise person to be proud and arrogant. Wisdom is talking in the quoted passage, saying she hates pride and arrogance. in dealing with so many people in various situations, I have noticed how beautifully wisdom and humility go together. Arrogance and stupidity, not so much! Yet the latter always seem to team up together, just like the former. This reminds me of Daniel. Daniel 1:20 says that Daniel and his friends were ten times wiser than their colleagues. Yet look what Daniel says later, when he interprets the king’s dream in Daniel 2:30.
And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.
Smart people don’t talk about how smart they are. When I was in my early twenties I was playing a Bible trivia game with a deacon in the church and a married couple just learning about Jesus. Whenever my deacon friend was asked a question, even though I knew he knew the answer right away, he would pause and think, and even ask the new couple what they thought before answering. At first I was puzzled why my deacon friend was acting like he did not already know it all. Soon, even the dimwit that I am, I caught on that my deacon friend was not wanting to show them up. He wanted for them all to come up with the answer together instead of him looking like he knew it all. I learned a valuable lesson from my deacon friend that day, a lesson I have carried into my ministry. When I am with a new seeker, and I ask them to turn to John 3:16, I don’t race to John 3:16 and then look at them like I am patiently waiting. I take my time. The lesson I learned from my wise deacon friend is, “Don’t show people up.” People who think they are wise are more hopeless than a fool, because at least a fool knows he is a fool, but those who think they are wise are clueless they are clueless.
There is more hope for fools than for people who think they are wise. Proverbs 26:12 NLT
Truly wise people don’t find glory in knowing it all. They find glory in knowing God.
…Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, …But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me… Jeremiah 9:23-24 NLT
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