God’s wisdom can guide everyday living

When we talk about someone being smart, what does that mean?

And wouldn’t it be helpful if we knew 20 years ago what we have learned today?

Let me explain. Just for fun once I bid on some old lunch boxes that were on eBay. They were the ones like Annie, John Scott and Buffy took to school years ago.

When I saw Charlie’s Angeles, the Dukes of Hazard, and Holly Hobby, I couldn’t resist. Those are all now collectors items. They were too expensive though. I could not afford the going price.

There are many items on eBay that were a huge part of our lives growing up. Another example is baseball cards.

My husband Charlie had baseball cards as a kid growing up and he collected them with passion. He collected them and had a neatly boxed collection of Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Pee Wee Reese, Ted Williams and countless others.

With bubble gum purchases he collected them and even swapped with his friends to get the new releases of top baseball players.

But after he collected all those cards by bubble gum purchases and then swapped them with the buddies, the baseball cards were not such a coveted item. So Charlie and his friends found other use for them

He clamped his baseball cards with clothespins to the spoke of his bicycle. He and his fiends would see how far down they could shred Mickey Mantel and Roger Maris.

The more cards a guy could clothespin to his spokes, the greater the whir. In the process, the boys’ bicycles made quite a commotion as they peddled the length of the neighboring sidewalks, wheeling in and out of the neighbors’ driveways.

The winner was the one who could shred the cards down the fastest.

So what is smart?

What Charlie and his friends as eight year old boys were doing with those baseball cards was not a matter of being smart but a matter of being ingenious.

At the time, it seemed a fun thing to do. How could each of them had known at the time that someday those cards would be worth much more money than the cost of wrapped bubble gum packages.

The trouble was that they could not see into the future and know those baseball cards would be worth a mint today.

For some, the definition of being bright means being an avid reader, or being one who knows much about a broad spectrum of topics. Others think being bright might mean straight A’s in school, being clever and coming up with new thoughts and having new ways of doing things. Some think being smart means to question.

The Bible does not explain what being smart is but does explain the profits of wisdom.

The writers use wisdom as they talk about God and doing the will of God. Wisdom is involved when reading about deciding not only what is right to do but in deciding what is wrong to do as well.’

We are all God’s children. Just like Charlie and his friends were children.

Sometimes we don’t make the best choices in decisions but that is what Christian faith is all about. When we know God in a personal way, we have access to great wisdom and that helps us even when our grownup minds operate in some ways as little children.

Sometimes the lack of judgment on our part is evidenced by the outcome.

That sounds simple but the wisdom comes as we ask God through faith to give us wisdom for everyday living.