Mind Meld of A Different Kind

PROVERBS 16:1, 9, 33
We can make our own plans,
but the LORD gives the right answer.
We can make our plans,
but the LORD determines our steps
We may throw the dice,
but the LORD determines how they fall.

String puppets
Three times in chapter 16 the writer of Proverbs acknowledges God’s sovereignty. Human freedom is limited; God is the one who is ultimately in control.

My dad has a silly looking duck string puppet he uses for children’s stories and cheap laughs. In the hands of a skilled puppeteer, the duck actually looks alive. You can make it walk, dance, stretch and move, but it only is as coordinated as the hand on the sticks.

My dad’s puppet has one natural movement, down. Each part of the body is weighted, making the puppet constantly pull against the strings. I wonder if that is how we respond to God in our sinful state. Naturally we only move in a downward direction, further removing ourselves from God. Since we are made in the image of God I think there is a desire to pull ourselves up, but only God can reverse the pull of gravity (sin) in our lives. Only the power of God can liberate us from our downward spiral.

At times it is frustrating to think of my plans as nothing. To think that all my efforts are like dice tumbling on a table. On the other hand, there is great comfort in knowing God is in control of where I land, and the steps I take. Understanding God’s plans are for my good brings assurance. When I am tempted to cut the strings of my life from God’s hand, it is good to remember the only direction that takes me is down. Attached to God, I can keep moving forward and upward.

God, there are times when I do not understand your plans or the steps you take me through, yet I believe you are in control and will bring good into my life through your sovereign plan. I want to surrender my scissors to you today. - Dan Jones

PROVERBS 6:23
From a wise mind comes wise speech;
the words of the wise are persuasive.

Critical Mind
So how does one develop a wise mind? It takes more than stuffing it with knowledge otherwise the really smart people would be the wisest. But they aren’t. Reading lots of books and listening to lots of teachers and preachers may be a good start, but it’s a long way from profound insight, deep understanding, or broad-based assessment.

Life-long learning must combine with accumulating experience to produce wise thinking. The ancient world valued the old – “elders” – as wise ones. So the first churches called their leaders “elders”. And that’s what they tended to be, older people. I think painful experiences, or any event that leads well beyond one’s comfort zone, holds special potential for developing wisdom.

But a lifetime of experience doesn’t guarantee a wise mind.

It seems to me that to learning and experience one must add critical thinking; an inquisitive mind that is driven by the annoying habit of asking uncomfortable questions. It’s easy to settle into pat answers and formulaic living. We buy uncritically into the assumptions of our culture and sub-cultures, with little evaluation we embrace the words of our favorite teachers or authors who affirm our own preconceived notions. We dismiss insight from those outside our own truth circle.

To be sure, critical thinking not informed by education and untempered by experience leads headlong into foolishness and a sad shadow of wisdom – ingredients for the making of a fool. A wise mind, I think, demands all three.

Wise Father, forbid that I ever settle into pat answers or formulaic living. Help me to ask the right questions; risky, unpopular or not. Guide me into healthy critical thinking, especially about my own assumptions and world view. - Mike Leamon