A Lesson in Wisdom

Christa and I have started an evening devotional using the Our Daily Bread booklet from RBC Ministries. I have to admit that the main reason we have these booklets is because they were available free. I ordered a few for each church. So far, I have really enjoyed the devotionals. Last night's was particularly good. The reading was from Ecclesiastes 9:13-18:

"There is something else I saw, a good example of how wisdom is regarded in this world. There was a little town without many people in it. A powerful king attacked it. He surrounded it and prepared to break through the walls. Someone lived there who was poor, but so clever that he could have saved the town. But no one thought about him. I have always said that wisdom is better than strength, but no one thinks of the poor as wise or pays any attention to what they say. It is better to listen to the quiet words of someone wise than to the shouts of a ruler at a council of fools. Wisdom does more good than weapons, but one sinner can undo a lot of good."

In the devotional, David Roper writes, "What matters most in the end is not the recognition and gratitude we receive for the work we've done, but the souls of those gentle folk in whom we've sown the seeds of righteousness."

I do appreciate the idea that wisdom is more important than strength. If someone does not speak up much, we tend to ignore them. Those that speak up are the ones that we listen to. As churches, we need to think about seeking out the thoughts and wisdom from everyone in the church. There are members of our church that have valuable ideas that we might never know about because their voices are not being heard. We can't always allow those that are willing to speak to guide where we go.

I also believe that this reading reminds us of our own ability to cancel out someone else's voice. We always need to be listening!