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Our Battle: Our Wisdom v His Wisdom


Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:7-8)
 

          I recently had an interesting Facebook discussion with someone. She is of the opinion that sex ed in the U.S. is pitiful and need to be more like what they have in Europe. She claims it is more effective at reducing teen pregnancies and STD transmission. She cited her own history, in which her parents effectively said, "Don't do it" and concluded that the whole key is open communication. My response was that the problem was not a lack of communication, it was a lack of obedience. She proved my point by refusing to consider anything I said.
          We're all like this young woman. We don't want to be told "Don't do it," whatever it might be. We want to think we're wise, wiser, in fact, than those who try to tell us how to live our lives. Our lives...our situations...we are different... unique... special (like Edmund in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.) God should talk to us, we will understand, and if we see things differently, He should understand and accommodate us. We are wise enough to make these decisions on our own. Obedience should not be required. It sometimes takes a lifetime of struggle to make it past this lie.
      In fact, I'm like this woman. Years of less than healthy "healthy eating" seem to be taking their toll. What was OK at 35 isn't OK at 53. I am trying to make what seem to be necessary changes in my diet, and they aren't having the instantaneous (magical) effects I want them to have. Of course, my "wisdom" is that if God were reasonable, He'd fix my body instead of asking me to fix my diet. He should consult with me and we should reach an agreement about what should happen: His roles and responsibilities and my roles and responses reached by negotiation. Expressed that way, it's obviously silly, but isn't that what we all do?
          It is precisely this attitude that keeps us from peace and that usually ends up with us in trouble. Obedience to the laws of nature - sometimes in their simplest form (the best way to not get pregnant and not contract a sexually transmitted disease is to not be sexually active, the best way to be healthy is to eat in accordance with what your body needs and with what it can handle now. Do I hear a "Duh"?) God's wisdom is always better than ours. Obedience to it brings spiritual, emotional, relational and physical health.

          Lord, help me get over my wisdom, and past my ego. Teach me obedience even while I try to tell you how to do Your job better.

 

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Birthday: Harvey Cushing (father of Neurosurgery)

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