Recognizing Wisdom--by Linden Malki

The world has always had those who recognize wisdom, and those who don't. It started with the very beginning; the first advice we have on record involves a tree, a man, and God. Wisdom often includes warnings: this one did. One problem is that not every source of advise is wise, and one reason is that advice can be biased in favor of only one side of the conversation. Eve--and Adam--made an unwise choice, and we are all faced with the problem of recognizing wisdom and folly when it presents itself to us.

The primary source of wisdom is God; there are occasions where He does speak directly to people. Not everyone believes or recognizes this, but there are records and descriptions that, to the best of our knowledge, indicate that it has happened, and the results are consistent with the message. For example, Abraham and Moses lives and legacies are consistent with their experiences of God's communication with them.

Another source of wisdom is information taught by people who have a track record of giving good advice.  One thing that goes along with this is recognition of bad advice when it is offered.  This usually requires some previous information; your own experience or that of others, that you can compare with new the information, and judge whether it is confirmed by your own experience or sources you trust, or not. We are flooded with information, and need to know how to evaluate it; recognizing that what we hear varies widely in truth or not.

The whole question of wisdom is related to trust: how do we know who and what to trust? Do we know how to cross-reference information, to learn to observe the world around us to see how it works, and think logically? Do we know how to look ahead and estimate the results of things we are asked to do or believe? Do we know how to see things not just black/white, but to know the conditions when they might actually be different?  For example, I grew up in snow country, and had to learn how do deal with varying road conditions. When we lived up in Devore, I was driving home one night and when I turned onto a road going toward the mountain, it was covered in snow. I was interested to see that my brain noticeably and automatically clicked onto "snow", and knew how to change my driving procedure. We need to be aware of what we know, what we think, how to recognize reality, and to know that we don't know everything--but we do know Who does!









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Nothing New about Crisis--by Linden Malki

History has always been a record of crisis. We don’t realize how fortunate we’ve been; most of the recent outbreaks we’ve had have been limited to a smaller subculture and didn’t impinge on everybody, and settled down to being “under the radar.” The medical advances of the last few decades have made it seem too easy. A few generations ago it was common for every family to go through all of their kids having measles, mumps, chicken pox, maybe even rheumatic fever or scarlet fever. I can recall having such a heavy rash that my face was one giant dark-red measle, and spent about three weeks in bed with the lights low (visual damage was one of the possible side effects. My older daughter had all five variations of measles at one time or another; I recall the doctor calling one of them “fifth disease” because they gave up naming them. There was even a song that our Sunday School kids sang for Christmas programs called “Santa, I Hope You’ve Had Measles”. And the rate of lasting side effects was significant.

The last major epidemic disease scare in the US was polio, which was curtailed by the Salk vaccine in 1954. I recall the summers when parks and pools were closed. The worst year was 1949, with 2720 deaths and over 42,000 cases reported. Some of us still recall family members or friends who were affected; one of my father’s sisters was on crutches and braces for most of her life.

Some of the major epidemics and plagues in the Bible include cholera, bubonic plague, smallpox, typhoid, typhus and measles. After the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines, it was associated with an outbreak of bubonic plague there, and was returned with small sculptures of mice and boils. The Assyrian army that besieged Jerusalem was destroyed by a plague carried by mice. I found references in the Gospels of 18 specific incidents (mentioned in one or more Gospels) of dramatic healings by Jesus, in addition to mentions of more mentioned without specific detail. We can see here what the people of that culture lived with, and that Jesus has the power to heal.  And we still see occasions of healings that are beyond medical knowledge, even today. For whatever reason, God has allowed disease and disabilities since the earliest histories we have, and has shown His power over them as well. . It could be that we need imperfections to keep us balanced as a society; crisis brings out both good and evil in us. (This is one of those questions for the day that we hope all will be explained.)

Best of Friends by Linden Malki

"Friends" are one of the reminders that God created us for relationships. Everything--even microscopic creatures of all kinds reproduce and share their DNA in some way. Most plants require another plant to pollinate, and even ones that self-pollinate reproduce. Animals of all kinds reproduce with some sort of connection with another creature of the same or related species, most of which are families in some sense. The most complex relationships are those of the most complex creation--us. Where we usually see God at work is that family relationships are not merely biological, but have a major emotional connection as well; ideally good; but some are dysfuntional, often ones with no relationship or unhealthy relationships with God. 

But this is not the only kind of relationship we have, and it is one we don't realize the power and importance involved.   We not only have families, but we have friends; people with whom we have no biological relationship. Some of  the earliest Biblical mentions of God's relationship with special people were those like Noah, Abraham and Jacob, that God used to develop His relationship with humanity.  Often our closest friends are those with whom we share faith and a relationship with God. We can work together on God's tasks, and we can help each other when bad things happen, even to good people.  These truly are "brothers and sisters" in God's kingdom.

The other side of this coin is that, being human, we may fail our friends, and sometimes this is serious enough to cause not only pain in what used to be a close friendship, but may spread to others who find themselves being dragged into a mess not of their making. Some of the most painful situations involve dishonesty, slander, injury, betrayal, jealousy, ambition, anger, sabotage--we all have our own list.  What is really upsetting and sad is when a church is damaged by serious sin, from the inside, outside, or both. Sometimes we can see it coming, and sometimes not. Sometimes we can help calm the storm; I once had two neighbors who were having affairs with each others' siblings, and I was one of the few people who was on minimal speaking terms with both the injured parties--and was able to squelch a nasty, exaggerated rumor. Once in awhile we get to do something good in this sort of situation: as Jesus said, Blessed are the Peacemakers!

Getting out of Life what we put into it with Love--by Linden Malki

         

God, You created us with the ability to make what we need out of what You provided, but also with the knowledge to do it according to Your design. We can make it right, or we can make it badly. You create us as babies, and give us to parents to love, teach, and take care of.  We have the capacity to learn,but not always in the same way. This world was created to use all of the different talents and abilities that we are provided, but we need to put our efforts and talents to work. We need to provide the teaching and opportunities for our children to learn and make use of the talents each is given.  We also need to use the teaching of others to give our kids the best shot at learning and working.

I was given an opportunity to see this in action this week.  My four kids grew up working; we had a business, and they spent time helping and learning . My older daughter could check in a shipment when she was six, and ran my office when she was in high school. We moved the store several years ago, and she found some tax form copies that she had filled out and filed when she was fourteen. She has a degree in finance, and is an accountant with as much work as she can do, still doing my accounting and taxes (and occasionally mentions things still does the way I taught her).

When my younger son was sixteen, he went up the street to an art supply store, and talked them into hiring him. At the beginning, he commented that selling a tube of paint was similar to selling spark plugs, which he already knew how to do. He worked there for the rest of high school, and when he was in college, he worked for a similar store near the Chapman University campus. He has gone on to writing, film, an online comic strip, several books, and other creative things. The other day, one of the people from the local art store came by my store to give us a flier advertising a closing sale, as the current owner has serious health issues, and asked me to pass the word to my son David. He came out to see them yesterday, and mentioned that there were things he had learned there that he still uses often. It is a reminder that "work" is more than drudgery; it should involve learning skills that we can use for the rest of our lives, starting from the beginning.  We need to understand that work skills are part of the legacy that we pass on to our own children, and others that we have the opportunity to work with.

The Family Circle by Linden Malki

"God so loved the world that He gave His Son..." 
This is one of the most recognized verses in Scripture, and it says a surprising amount when we really look at it.  First, God didn't just put a world together and walk away. There is something He did that is foundational to our world: He loves it, which indicates that He loves us. The love of a Father is one of the most basic, and yet one of the most difficult things for us to deal with. What do we actually know about Him?  That He is One God, and He wants to have a special relationship with us. We are not allowed to make any representation of Him; we are to be very careful as to what we do in His Name, and we owe Him a day of worship and attention. 

He has given us something else: we are to live in families; with fathers and mothers who are to be honored. We are brought into this world by parents, who at best are representatives of God. Parenting is not easy; we are all separate indivuals but have characteristics and obligations that make each family similar but separate. The love within a family is supposed to be based on the Love of God, but every family is both alike and different. Parents are responsible for their children, but children are also supposed to honor their parents.  Parents are only given their children for part of their lives, and they are to teach them who God is and what their responsibility to Him really is.

It can be tempting to let our lives rotate around the our children, and don't allow any "bad things" to get in the way. We live in a world that isn't all sweetness and light, and if we look at how God deals with us, we realize that we learn how to deal with tough stuff the hard way. God provides challenges, the world has its own share of tests, and we are supposed to grow up and know what to do  when life throws curve balls. I spent an amazing summer at one point in my life learning that when St Paul tells the Romans that "all things work together for good" doesn't say anything about what those "things" really are, and finally recognized that some of those things weren't necessarily about me, but there were good reasons for the way things finally worked out. In the Gospels, we see Peter try to walk on water, but sank when he took his eyes off of Jesus.  Jesus allowed Peter to get into some tough spots, because he needed to learn to deal with the stuff we're put on a complicated world to handle.

Dealing with the fireworks! by Linden Malki

Love is a great experience--except when it isn't. I've seen the excitement of the butterflies in the tummy--even had it happen once in awhile. I've had a couple of good friends who didn't understand that there is more to "love" than floating around a few inches off the ground, and when the butterflies die off you think it's over and you can walk away. Or even lose interest when somebody you've been watching from a distance shows an interest--and that takes all the fun out of it. One of my friends who had a habit of losing interest began to stalk one guy who she had dumped--after he got a new girlfriend. The thing to learn about "eros" is that you don't learn what you need to know unless you learn what's actually happening.  Yes, there are times when you can fall hard for someone who turns out to be a good match, and you recognize that the excitement always wears off--usually in six months to a year--but if you have kept your eyes open, made a point of praying for the wisdom you need, know what you want and don't want, there's a good chance that it will grow into a blessed and lasting relationship.   

All the different kinds of love have things in common--one is that they require something from us. Healthy families, healthy friendships, and even a healthy relationship with God require effort, watchfulness, an understanding of what a good relationship involves. If we always put ourselves first, this usually doesn't work well. Being a doormat doesn't work well either; it can become a distraction that makes it easy to miss out on things we really should be doing, and it doesn't usually help others either.  Again, applying good sense to a situation helps; recognizing when you are asking too much or too little from someone; interfering with their best interest, making a pest of yourself with other people (or even God).

Another thing that can be tough to wrap our minds around is the footnote to the commandments to love--that we need to have a proper understanding of how we fit into this. It can be easy to get into the habit of ignoring or belittling our own needs, or also to not clearly understand what we are responsible for, and what we are not. I've had instances of answers to prayer tell me to stop fussing and let God deal with it (and the person who triggered the problem eventually unsnarled it); I've been told to use the brain I was given to deal with an issue, and I've been told that I was worrying about the wrong thing and to concentrate on what I was actually called and expected to do. Love should be an important part of our relationships and our walk with God; and His teaching and His Word are the best ways to make it the best part of our lives.

Are We Listening? by Linden Malki

When God created the universe, and the world, He said that it was Good. When He created man, He put the man in a garden to take care of it, and He told the man that he could eat anything except the fruit of one tree: the one that was in the center of the Garden.  The man heard the instruction from God, and it gave him a choice, the choice to obey. We know what happened: they listened, but they made the choice to disobey.

We live with this choice: we can listen or not; and we make choices. God has always given us His words, and they come with the option of obedience. When mankind made too many bad choices, God told one man, one man that He knew would listen, and told him how to deal with the consequences that were coming. When God was ready to start over, He spoke to Noah and again, gave Noah instructions, and gave him the option of listening and obeying.  Again, some people listened, and some of them took God seriously and some did not. We have enough instructions, we don't need any more words, we know what God offers, and we know that it comes down to a choice.

Abraham listened; Jacob listened, Moses listened.  They knew what God wanted; and they offered their families the choices.  Sometimes people listened; sometimes they obeyed. God spoke through prophets; He spoke through events and consequences. Some people listened; some actually learned what God wanted of us. Two thousand years after Abraham, the records were there. People who listened, or read what had already been said, knew what God wanted them to hear. 

And then God spoke again; this time directly through a part of Himself. Most of what Jesus said wasn't new; it had been said before.  Jesus spoke, more people listened; this time what God was saying was spread throughout the world. We have no excuse: we have the recorded words God gave people over the centuries readily available. We have the privilege of being able to ask and to listen to Him personally; we just in many cases need to stop talking and listen. It's available; we don't need new words. We have witnesses, we have events, we have what we need. We just need to listen!