1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,120 For those of you that don't know, my name is Greg Hampton. 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,840 I'm one of the pastors here at the house. 3 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:08,200 And if we've never met, I'd love to meet you. 4 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:10,200 If you'd like to get a coffee sometime, 5 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:11,440 put that on your connection card. 6 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:13,440 I would love to meet you somewhere 7 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:16,200 and I'll buy you a coffee or tea or whatever it is 8 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:19,440 that's your preferred beverage and just get to know you. 9 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:21,640 We are in our third week of a series 10 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:23,600 that we're calling Wisdom Lit. 11 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:26,280 That's because there's a whole category of scriptures 12 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:29,000 that are called wisdom literature. 13 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,760 And so we are just looking at the different parts 14 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:34,160 of those Bibles or the themes that are found 15 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:37,240 in those Bible passages that might have something 16 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:40,240 to say to us about wisdom. 17 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:42,420 So today we're actually gonna be going to 18 00:00:42,420 --> 00:00:46,040 the most obvious place for wisdom in the scriptures. 19 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:47,360 If you feel brave, I'm gonna count to three, 20 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:49,580 say the Proverbs. 21 00:00:49,580 --> 00:00:50,420 That's right. 22 00:00:50,420 --> 00:00:52,360 So the Proverbs are traditionally attributed 23 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:56,520 to King Solomon, but it's actually a lot like 24 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,600 the book of Psalms in the sense that it wasn't 25 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:02,160 actually written by just one person. 26 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,280 The Psalms is actually a compilation that's broken 27 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:07,920 into five different books, but there's many different 28 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,080 authors and the book of Proverbs actually has 29 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:14,780 at least five different authors, but one of the primary 30 00:01:14,780 --> 00:01:17,200 ones that gathered those sayings together 31 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:21,640 and compiled those things would have been King Solomon. 32 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:25,520 The Solomon's origin story is pretty interesting. 33 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:27,760 It's pretty unique in the scriptures 34 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:29,560 if you're familiar with it. 35 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:31,580 He's the son of King David. 36 00:01:31,580 --> 00:01:33,860 David was the second king, so then Solomon 37 00:01:33,860 --> 00:01:36,060 becomes the third king. 38 00:01:36,060 --> 00:01:40,640 God chooses him to follow in King David's footsteps. 39 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,200 Now he wasn't the oldest, he's actually right 40 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,400 in the middle of about 20 kids that King David had 41 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:48,320 with multiple different wives. 42 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:53,120 He's actually, but he is the oldest surviving son 43 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:56,680 of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. 44 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:58,040 There's something interesting when you find out 45 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:00,520 these things, oh he's the wisest man that ever lived 46 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:02,080 and then you find out his origin, you're like, 47 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:05,520 oh how amazing is it that someone with that backstory, 48 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,280 with some of the tragedy of where he began 49 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:11,440 of his father's choices, that this person becomes 50 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,600 being considered so wise. 51 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:16,760 Part of that origin story is also that when God 52 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,920 chosen to become king, God said, what would you like? 53 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:22,320 I'll give you anything that you want as you set out 54 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:26,920 to be king over Israel and Solomon, instead of asking 55 00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:30,960 for riches, he asks for wisdom so that he would rule 56 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,600 over God's people with wisdom and so because he asked 57 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,760 for wisdom instead of riches, it says that God gave him 58 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,440 both, because of that, Solomon ended up building 59 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:44,160 the kingdom, growing the kingdom, expanding the kingdom. 60 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,400 He built the first temple for the Lord. 61 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:49,720 It was something that his father had wanted to do 62 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,640 but Yahweh had told him, no, this will be something 63 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:58,120 that your son does and of course we know that Solomon 64 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:03,120 became ridiculously wealthy but Solomon also took 65 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:07,800 700 wives and 300 concubines. 66 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,720 He saddled the people with giant financial burdens. 67 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,160 He made deals with countries that God had told Israel 68 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:19,200 to avoid and in his later years, he worshiped false gods 69 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:24,200 and idols which led to the kingdom splitting in two. 70 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,140 So was Solomon wise? 71 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:29,440 Yes. 72 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:32,840 But was he also foolish? 73 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:35,000 Yes. 74 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,240 This is one of those fascinating things about the scriptures. 75 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,840 Said this 100 times over the years, one of the things 76 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,160 I love about the scripture that does not hide people's faults. 77 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:51,160 The Bible will hold someone up as a wise person 78 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:54,520 or a man after God's own heart and then show you 79 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:56,920 all the horrible and sinful things that they did. 80 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:02,960 David meets consequences for his sins but he's not 81 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:06,280 stripped of his title as a man after God's own heart. 82 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:12,760 Solomon is not stripped of his title as wisest king 83 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:16,720 of Israel, there's something to be learned 84 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:17,960 in that about wisdom. 85 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:24,380 There are no perfect people of any kind. 86 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:29,260 There are only people with patches of wisdom. 87 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,900 And if you gather enough pieces, they come together 88 00:04:34,900 --> 00:04:36,040 like a blanket. 89 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:40,320 That's how I would describe the Proverbs, 90 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:42,400 that's how I would describe the Psalms. 91 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:45,280 They are like blankets of wisdom, they are all the best 92 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:48,100 pieces that have been brought together to cover you. 93 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,320 Psalms are a collection of songs and poems. 94 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:55,800 Proverbs is a collection of sayings. 95 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,520 It's the only book like it in the scriptures. 96 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,700 It is a collection of sayings, there's maybe one and a half 97 00:05:01,700 --> 00:05:04,660 chapters that is a little bit more like a story 98 00:05:04,660 --> 00:05:06,560 or has a little bit more of a narrative to it. 99 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,880 But almost all of it is just saying after saying 100 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:11,720 after saying, it would be the equivalent today 101 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,040 of King Solomon having a Twitter account just saying 102 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:19,800 a saying, a saying, and they all got compiled together. 103 00:05:20,860 --> 00:05:25,860 And verse after verse challenge us to ask, am I wise? 104 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,440 Is this wise? 105 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:30,600 Or is this foolish? 106 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,360 If you're familiar with the Beatitudes in the gospel, 107 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:37,920 the sayings of Jesus, Proverbs is a lot like that, 108 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,440 just the entire book, line after line, touching on 109 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:45,360 everything from finances and fighting to love and leadership. 110 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:51,140 Every day when I drive Wallace to school, 111 00:05:51,140 --> 00:05:54,800 I have in his side of the car, in the door, 112 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:58,480 a Psalms and Proverbs, and every day on the way to school, 113 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:01,440 he reads part of a Psalm or part of a Proverb. 114 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:03,460 And on the way to school, we discuss what we think 115 00:06:03,460 --> 00:06:04,360 it might mean. 116 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:07,840 Because this is how they're meant to be used. 117 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:11,020 They're meant to shape our steps. 118 00:06:11,020 --> 00:06:13,760 It's meant to cause us to think about how we will live 119 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:18,760 today and maybe look back and consider how today we lived. 120 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:24,880 So today, we're gonna jump into the Proverbs. 121 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:29,040 If you wanna grab your Bible, we're gonna be opening up 122 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,920 to a bunch of different places in the Proverbs, 123 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:33,420 but it goes like this, it goes, 124 00:06:33,420 --> 00:06:36,600 Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. 125 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,280 Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. 126 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:40,640 If you see any of those, you know that you're in 127 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:41,800 the right neighborhood. 128 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,020 If you don't have a Bible, there are Bibles on the tables. 129 00:06:45,020 --> 00:06:47,760 There's also Bibles on the bookshelf, out in the lobby 130 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:51,940 if you wanna take one home or feel free to download 131 00:06:51,940 --> 00:06:54,720 the Bible from any of the digital app stores. 132 00:06:55,680 --> 00:07:00,680 But we also have a tradition of giving the Bible 133 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:02,980 our full attention when it's read in the context 134 00:07:02,980 --> 00:07:03,820 of a sermon. 135 00:07:03,820 --> 00:07:05,640 You can do that any number of ways, but if you'd like 136 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:07,940 to stand with me, you are welcome to do that 137 00:07:07,940 --> 00:07:09,640 as you are able. 138 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:14,600 I'm gonna start in 1318, Proverbs 1318. 139 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:18,280 And I'm gonna change chapters almost five or six times here. 140 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:20,840 So Proverbs 1318 says this, 141 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:25,280 whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame, 142 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:28,320 but whoever heeds correction is honored. 143 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:33,320 Proverbs 1415, the simple believe anything, 144 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:36,200 but the prudent give thought to their steps. 145 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:41,200 Proverbs 1813, to answer before listening, 146 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:43,740 that is folly and shame. 147 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:49,680 Proverbs 1821, the tongue has the power of life and death 148 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:53,360 and those who love it will eat its fruit. 149 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:58,360 Proverbs 1917, whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord 150 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,960 and he will reward them for what they have done. 151 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:06,960 Proverbs 29, seven, 29, seven, the righteous care 152 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:12,960 about justice for the poor, but the wicked 153 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:16,280 have no such concern. 154 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:18,060 Let us pray. 155 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:22,540 God of every tribe, every tongue, every color, 156 00:08:22,540 --> 00:08:24,560 every nation, we thank you for the scriptures 157 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,760 that they have persisted throughout the millennia. 158 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:31,520 In this case, they were gathered together, 159 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:34,520 all the sayings put together in one place. 160 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:35,980 Whatever you have for us to learn today, 161 00:08:35,980 --> 00:08:38,040 I pray that it would stick, 162 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:40,920 that it would become a part of the framework of our faith, 163 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:43,720 that our faith would become stronger 164 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,220 as we become more like your son Jesus. 165 00:08:47,300 --> 00:08:48,320 Amen? 166 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:50,320 Amen, thanks, y'all, you can have a seat. 167 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:55,320 Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame, 168 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,240 but whoever heeds correction is honored. 169 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:01,160 As you read through the Proverbs, 170 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:04,960 it becomes extremely obvious that if you struggle 171 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:07,160 with correction, you will struggle to find wisdom. 172 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:10,560 I get it. 173 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,400 Most of us, if not all of us, have had a bad boss. 174 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:17,320 Most of us have had a bad boss. 175 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:20,320 Most of us, if not all of us, have had a bad boss. 176 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:27,360 We had a mean teacher, we had a short-tempered parent, 177 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,560 we had an impatient pastor. 178 00:09:33,560 --> 00:09:35,720 I'm not always as patient or wise 179 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:37,720 as I would like you to think that I am. 180 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:46,040 I know that so much of the correction 181 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:47,880 many of us have received in our lives 182 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:52,160 was just a veiled kind of hurtful behavior. 183 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:58,140 Trouble is that if we don't learn the difference 184 00:09:58,140 --> 00:10:01,000 between cutting to hurt and pruning for growth, 185 00:10:02,780 --> 00:10:05,600 we will bristle and reject any correction 186 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:08,380 in crucial moments. 187 00:10:10,680 --> 00:10:12,920 Proverbs 12.1 says, whoever loves discipline 188 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,800 loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction 189 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:17,260 is unwise. 190 00:10:18,420 --> 00:10:19,520 I'll tell you a secret. 191 00:10:20,700 --> 00:10:22,280 If you just type in a Bible verse, 192 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,360 just like type in Proverbs 12.1 to Google, 193 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:27,540 one of the top hits that you'll get 194 00:10:27,540 --> 00:10:30,080 is a website called BibleHub.com. 195 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:31,960 And if you type in just one verse, 196 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:33,680 the nice thing that it'll do is that Bible Hub 197 00:10:33,680 --> 00:10:36,620 will actually give you an entire page of that verse 198 00:10:36,620 --> 00:10:39,440 in every conceivable translation. 199 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:42,880 If you go to that page for this verse, 200 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:44,960 you will only find one translation 201 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,420 that uses the word unwise. 202 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,120 85% of the rest of the versions says, 203 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:53,640 whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, 204 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:55,640 but whoever hates correction is stupid. 205 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:00,340 I was like, I don't know if I wanna use that, 206 00:11:00,340 --> 00:11:01,920 but hey, here I am. 207 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:04,760 It's one of those. 208 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,040 The foolish reject the idea that they could be wrong 209 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:10,440 about anything. 210 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,280 The foolish reject the idea that they could be wrong 211 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:15,400 about anything. 212 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:20,500 And so they end up rejecting legitimate correction 213 00:11:20,500 --> 00:11:22,760 if they don't like the way that it was given. 214 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:30,000 Then, of course, for any of us 215 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:31,920 that are in the position to offer correction, 216 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,120 we, of course, should always do so 217 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,040 with great understanding, great care, 218 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,840 knowing that we are rarely without fault as well, right? 219 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:42,040 Amen? 220 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,320 If we are the ones giving correction to someone else, 221 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:46,760 we are rarely without fault ourselves. 222 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:51,120 Now, some of you might know the name John Bray. 223 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:53,340 John Bray was the lead pastor 224 00:11:53,340 --> 00:11:55,600 of a church called Heritage for decades, 225 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:57,540 literally, I think, four decades. 226 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,960 He told me that he would get negative letters now and again, 227 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:06,120 but he said he would read them carefully 228 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:11,120 considering what truth there might be in that letter 229 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:18,040 and then letting go of what was only meant to be hurtful. 230 00:12:20,680 --> 00:12:23,880 He was doing his best to discern the truth, 231 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:25,720 even if it was uncomfortable, 232 00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:29,200 because he assumed that he was not perfect. 233 00:12:32,620 --> 00:12:35,120 Part of that process that the Proverbs lays out 234 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:37,200 is learning to listen 235 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:43,960 and then respond only after we understand. 236 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:48,480 If your kids are in a leader in me school, 237 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:50,240 you've heard the phrase, 238 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:52,980 seek first to understand and then be understood. 239 00:12:52,980 --> 00:12:55,520 It's a Stephen Covey saying, 240 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:57,080 but he got from the Proverbs. 241 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,080 We listen to learn so that we can understand 242 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:05,440 before we speak. 243 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:06,840 Proverbs 14, 15 said, 244 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:08,800 the simple believe everything, 245 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:11,200 but the prudent give thought to their steps. 246 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:14,000 18, 13 said, to answer before listening, 247 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,040 that is folly and shame. 248 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:21,680 Liam, I got a graphic I'm gonna have you put up here 249 00:13:21,680 --> 00:13:23,360 in just a second, ready? 250 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:25,040 There's this old movie called Office Space, 251 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:26,360 anybody seen it? 252 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:27,960 I can't recommend it to everybody 253 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:31,520 because it has a copious amount of swearing in it. 254 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:33,400 So it's not for everyone, 255 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:34,440 but if you have seen it, 256 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:38,200 you will recognize this graphic or this idea 257 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:40,040 because there was this moment where a guy was like, 258 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:41,720 hey, I've got this great idea. 259 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:44,080 When you need to make a decision, 260 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:46,240 you just use this thing, get it? 261 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:48,320 You jump to a conclusion. 262 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,120 Dude, most of us have one of these, don't we? 263 00:13:54,660 --> 00:13:57,440 Whether we actually have one at home or not, 264 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,120 most of us have one of these in our heads. 265 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:04,120 Most of us have one of these things in our hearts. 266 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:10,080 It feels like it has become more and more rare 267 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:12,960 for people to really seek to understand something 268 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:15,920 before jumping to a conclusion, 269 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:21,240 especially if they think they already have the answer. 270 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:23,080 Thanks, Liam. 271 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,880 There's actually research that shows that across more than, 272 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:32,160 listen, 35 million public posts 273 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:35,360 that contained a link to another page or article 274 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:40,360 when they got shared on Facebook between 2017 and 2020 275 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:44,800 that around 75% of those shares or reposts 276 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:45,920 were made without the person 277 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:47,840 actually clicking on the link first. 278 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:52,160 In other words, three out of four people 279 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:54,360 just believe what they saw in the title 280 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:58,000 and passed it on without reading it, 281 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:01,960 like they understood what it said. 282 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:04,720 Why? 283 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:06,680 The blunt answer is foolishness. 284 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:11,200 The scientific answer is called confirmation bias. 285 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:17,440 Confirmation bias is when we interpret new evidence 286 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:21,040 as confirmation of what we already believe. 287 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:23,320 Your body will actually do it. 288 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:25,120 You'll hear something or see something 289 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:27,440 and you'll have this sense of, oh, I like that. 290 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:30,640 That's your first warning sign. 291 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:34,480 Why do we do that? 292 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:37,720 Because when we get information that confirms 293 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:42,720 what we already believe, our brain gets a surge of dopamine. 294 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:46,040 And that feels good. 295 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:49,880 We take the easy route 296 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:53,400 because our brain has to work harder 297 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:55,920 to find out if something is actually true. 298 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:00,520 If it sounds like something we already think, 299 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:02,600 it's just easier and it feels better 300 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:03,960 to assume that it's true. 301 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,680 Which leads us to then only seek out 302 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:11,000 and accept information that agrees 303 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:12,600 with what we already think. 304 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:17,800 So whether it's politics, 305 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:19,880 whether it's how your boss corrected you, 306 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:23,240 whether it's considering whether the Bible means 307 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:25,120 what someone told you that it means, 308 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:29,480 critical thinking matters 309 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,320 because critical thinking is connected with wisdom. 310 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:36,640 It is not the fullness of wisdom, 311 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,400 but it is connected with wisdom 312 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:46,440 because then how we think leads to the way that we what? 313 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,040 That we speak, that we behave. 314 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:52,800 Proverbs 18, 21, the tongue has the power of life and death. 315 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,560 Those who love it will eat its fruit. 316 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:00,440 15, four says the soothing tongue is a tree of life, 317 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:03,920 but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. 318 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,200 Some of you guys know that I do a bit of improv 319 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,640 at Comedy Sports along with Andy over here. 320 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:16,720 And it is funny and Andy probably can attest this. 321 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:19,000 It is funny how often we will talk to people 322 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:21,000 that think they can do what we do. 323 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:24,280 They see you doing it and they think, 324 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:27,040 oh yeah, I could do that, I could do that. 325 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:29,720 And I was talking to someone the other day about it. 326 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:33,800 And I was, my son Wallace has baseball practice on Wednesday 327 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:36,440 and so I'll go over to the Riverfront Grill 328 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:38,640 and hang out while he's at baseball practice 329 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:39,480 because it's right down there. 330 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:41,560 I don't wanna drive, I'm sorry guys, 331 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:43,400 I don't wanna drive all the way down there. 332 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:44,720 I'm gonna drive all the way across the river again. 333 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:45,840 I'm that guy now. 334 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:48,280 And so my arm is gonna hang out at Riverfront Grill 335 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:49,520 and I was talking to this guy, he goes, 336 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:50,360 oh you do that improv thing. 337 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:52,280 I was like, yeah, yeah, he goes, oh yeah, 338 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:53,520 I could definitely do that. 339 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:55,560 And I was like, oh okay, we do auditions 340 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:57,000 a couple times a year. 341 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,400 And he was convinced that he could do it 342 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:00,960 until I asked him one question. 343 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:04,080 Can you work clean? 344 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:10,040 He said, oh no, I definitely can't do it. 345 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:15,040 He was so convinced that he could be funny in improv 346 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:18,800 that he was like, oh I definitely can't do those things 347 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:20,640 because I can't control my tongue. 348 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:28,520 Of course the Proverbs were talking 349 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:30,120 about more than comedy, right? 350 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:32,520 Solomon was a king. 351 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:37,320 So when a king says the tongue has the power of life 352 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:41,240 and death, he also means that literally. 353 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:46,520 His words had the literal power of life and death 354 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:51,520 for everybody that he led, for everyone in his kingdom. 355 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:54,000 The same is true today. 356 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,680 The higher you are in leadership in any organization, 357 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:01,440 what you say and what you do will either prove wise 358 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:04,240 and give life or prove to be foolish, 359 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,920 negatively affect everyone that follows you. 360 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:12,800 We need to be open to correction. 361 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:17,640 We need to know how to hear so that we know how to speak 362 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:20,520 because it all comes together in a way 363 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:22,920 that has real world consequences. 364 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:27,720 Because to do what is right and just is more acceptable 365 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:29,640 to the Lord than sacrifice. 366 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:32,960 Because the righteous care about justice for the poor 367 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:37,960 but the wicked have no such concern. 368 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:43,760 Now I'm gonna do something that I have, 369 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:47,160 to my recollection, I don't know that I've ever done 370 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:50,720 something like this before in the context of a sermon. 371 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,520 I've mentioned current events before in passing 372 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:58,720 or pointed at something, but what I've never done 373 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,800 is taken something that happened in our world 374 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:03,840 and then said, let's take what we're learning 375 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:07,720 and actually consider what this means. 376 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:11,960 I have a pastor friend in Minneapolis 377 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:16,960 that he believes that pastors needs to tell 378 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:20,280 their congregations who they should vote for. 379 00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:25,320 That pastors should be endorsing candidates 380 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:27,840 and I said, listen, my job as a pastor 381 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:32,840 is not to tell a congregation what to think 382 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,920 but part of my job is to help a congregation 383 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:40,920 know how to think because that's wisdom. 384 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:43,560 Wisdom is learning how to think about 385 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,560 what is happening in our world and then responding, 386 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:48,680 not just taking something someone said 387 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:50,440 and regurgitating, right? 388 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:53,880 So we're gonna talk about something that happened 389 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:57,880 this past week and I want you to keep in mind, 390 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:01,280 I'm not saying any of this because of any affiliation 391 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:04,040 to a political party, I'm talking about this 392 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:07,360 because it has real world consequences 393 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:09,600 because it specifically has to do 394 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:12,680 with wisdom and foolishness. 395 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,760 This last week, there is a young man, 25 years old, 396 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:18,240 his name is Marco, that resigned from his role 397 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:19,560 with a government agency. 398 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,760 Earlier in the week, he was one of only two people 399 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,160 that was allowed access to the treasury department system 400 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,040 that is responsible for dispersing 401 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:31,160 more than $5 trillion in annual payments. 402 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:35,340 But then what happened is that some journalists 403 00:21:35,340 --> 00:21:40,340 found a bunch of old tweets that Marco had posted 404 00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:44,920 and as a result of that, he resigned. 405 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:49,160 Those tweets were as follows, last July, 2024, 406 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,100 just for the record, I was racist before it was cool. 407 00:21:52,100 --> 00:21:56,140 In September of 2024, you could not pay me 408 00:21:56,140 --> 00:21:59,020 to marry outside of my ethnicity. 409 00:21:59,020 --> 00:22:03,380 In September, he also posted, normalize Indian hate. 410 00:22:03,380 --> 00:22:06,540 In December of 2024, less than two months ago, 411 00:22:06,540 --> 00:22:09,500 he posted, I just want a eugenic immigration policy, 412 00:22:09,500 --> 00:22:10,860 is that too much to ask? 413 00:22:12,180 --> 00:22:16,180 His boss happens to be Elon Musk and Elon posted a poll 414 00:22:16,180 --> 00:22:19,500 to his Twitter account and asked, 415 00:22:19,500 --> 00:22:22,380 should I bring back the staffer who made inappropriate 416 00:22:22,380 --> 00:22:25,300 statements via a now deleted pseudonym? 417 00:22:25,300 --> 00:22:30,300 385,000 people voted, 78,000 said yes, rehire him. 418 00:22:31,540 --> 00:22:34,500 One of those yes votes was from our vice president 419 00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:38,260 who then retweeted and he said, I obviously disagree 420 00:22:38,260 --> 00:22:40,920 with some of Marco's posts, but I don't think 421 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:42,560 that stupid social media activity 422 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:44,340 should ruin a kid's life. 423 00:22:44,340 --> 00:22:48,060 Elon said he will be brought back because to err is human, 424 00:22:48,060 --> 00:22:50,300 to forgive is divine. 425 00:22:50,300 --> 00:22:52,900 And when the president was asked what he thought of it, 426 00:22:52,900 --> 00:22:54,580 he said he'd not heard about it, 427 00:22:54,580 --> 00:22:56,940 but he would side with the vice president. 428 00:22:56,940 --> 00:23:00,580 Now, consider what we've been learning about wisdom. 429 00:23:01,820 --> 00:23:03,460 What does wisdom tell us? 430 00:23:04,580 --> 00:23:08,140 First, I think that wisdom might separate forgiveness 431 00:23:08,140 --> 00:23:09,300 from employment. 432 00:23:11,140 --> 00:23:15,380 There is no doubt that Marco needs forgiveness, amen? 433 00:23:15,380 --> 00:23:16,220 He needs forgiveness. 434 00:23:16,220 --> 00:23:21,220 He, everybody, everyone needs forgiveness, everyone. 435 00:23:21,980 --> 00:23:23,540 And I hope that he apologizes, 436 00:23:23,540 --> 00:23:24,820 I hope that he works on himself. 437 00:23:24,820 --> 00:23:28,800 I hope that he considers why he said those things. 438 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:32,440 Jesus does not want anyone to hate Marco, 439 00:23:34,060 --> 00:23:37,420 even if Marco hates someone for the color of their skin. 440 00:23:38,660 --> 00:23:42,140 Jesus does not want us to have hate or animosity 441 00:23:42,140 --> 00:23:44,740 in our hearts toward him or anyone else 442 00:23:44,740 --> 00:23:47,380 that is in this scenario. 443 00:23:47,380 --> 00:23:50,580 Jesus, going back to two weeks ago, he wants us to what? 444 00:23:50,580 --> 00:23:55,240 To pray for him, to bless him, if at all possible. 445 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,720 But wisdom is taking the time to consider 446 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:01,700 should someone that as recently as December 447 00:24:01,700 --> 00:24:04,180 that was posting racist comments online, 448 00:24:04,180 --> 00:24:07,660 should that someone have a job like that? 449 00:24:09,860 --> 00:24:11,120 The next question is, 450 00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:14,680 is there wisdom in how the story was framed? 451 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:17,000 What do I mean? 452 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:20,960 What did we learn earlier about online activity, right? 453 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:24,340 What percentage of people don't actually read the article? 454 00:24:24,340 --> 00:24:27,140 75% of people don't read the article. 455 00:24:27,140 --> 00:24:28,840 Who remembers what percentage of people said, 456 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:30,360 yes, rehire him? 457 00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:31,720 78%. 458 00:24:33,140 --> 00:24:34,400 Tracks a little bit. 459 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:38,120 Do we think that most people looked up 460 00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:39,960 what actually happened? 461 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:41,200 Chances are that a lot of people 462 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:42,660 didn't look up what happened. 463 00:24:42,660 --> 00:24:45,400 They saw someone made an inappropriate post. 464 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:46,440 Should they be rehired? 465 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:48,360 Sure, give them grace. 466 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:49,600 Absolutely. 467 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:51,620 But wisdom asks, 468 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,320 why didn't the question ask, 469 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,440 should we bring back the staffer that made racist comments 470 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:00,640 online over the course of six months 471 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:02,840 and as recently as six weeks ago, 472 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:05,440 instead of asking, should we bring back the staffer 473 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:07,440 that made inappropriate comments? 474 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:09,960 Wisdom would ask, why was it framed 475 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,840 as stupid social media activity from a kid 476 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:17,640 instead of racist social media activity 477 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:19,760 from a 25-year-old man? 478 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:24,360 Wisdom would ask, when you are asked 479 00:25:24,360 --> 00:25:26,360 if you had heard about this story 480 00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:28,080 and what you think about it, 481 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,120 but you don't know any of the facts, 482 00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:32,640 should you blindly agree with your coworker 483 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:35,920 or should you take a minute? 484 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:40,200 Or should you take a minute and find out what happened? 485 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:46,240 And then I think finally, wisdom would ask, 486 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:49,560 if your pastor uses a real story from this past week 487 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:51,000 from the country you live in, 488 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:53,920 should you spend some time later today 489 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:55,600 looking into it for yourself? 490 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,400 Because it's not my job to tell you what to think. 491 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,600 It's not even my job to tell you what happened 492 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:05,840 in our world every week. 493 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:08,880 It is my job to help you think, 494 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:10,680 at least in this series, about wisdom. 495 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:19,960 You, we, all of us have to develop our ability 496 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,840 to separate wisdom and foolishness. 497 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:28,840 Because if we don't, it is, according to the Proverbs, 498 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:32,400 it is the vulnerable, it is the poor, 499 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:36,400 it is the marginalized that will be left behind. 500 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:41,040 It is those that are affected by racism 501 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:43,680 that will be left behind. 502 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:52,080 So read the Proverbs, maybe every day. 503 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,000 At an extremely important time in my life, 504 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:58,520 when I had come back from college, 505 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:00,320 after I had had a failed internship, 506 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:04,800 I had a mentor remind me that the Proverbs has 31 chapters. 507 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:11,080 Just enough, every day. 508 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:14,480 Read a verse, read a chapter. 509 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:18,360 Develop, develop, develop. 510 00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:23,360 Read a verse, read a chapter, develop this wisdom within you. 511 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:30,080 Because while Solomon was a deeply flawed man, 512 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:33,400 so are every single one of us. 513 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:41,440 And fortunately, the greatest hits of everything 514 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:45,160 that Solomon ever learned got put together for us, 515 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:47,280 so that maybe we could avoid some of the mistakes 516 00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:48,120 that he made. 517 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:53,160 So that maybe one of us in this room 518 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,880 might actually, with their daily life, 519 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,680 exhibit greater wisdom than even him. 520 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:07,240 So read them, consider them, talk with each other about them, 521 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:11,480 and let the Scriptures shape the shape of your heart, 522 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:13,480 the strength of your faith. 523 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:17,320 As you become more like Jesus. 524 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:18,160 Amen? 525 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:19,000 Amen. 526 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:19,840 Amen. 527 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:20,840 Let us pray. 528 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:26,280 Father, we thank you for the work that you did, 529 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:28,200 and the work that you're doing. 530 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,680 We pray that you would continue to develop wisdom in us 531 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:33,880 as we approach the table. 532 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:37,280 We're reminded what you did on the cross. 533 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:42,280 What you did on the cross, amen.