I'm the Subway yo-yo. 

Missed Opportunity

Galatians 6:9-10

I’m only going to relate this story to you so that you don’t do what I did.

I went to Subway today for lunch. (That wasn’t the mistake.) First, let it be known that I NEVER go to Subway to eat. I’ve been at this office for over two years and I split my time between several fast food places and bringing my lunch. Never in 2 years have I been in the mood for a Subway sandwich. Today, I’m in the mood for Subway, inexplicably. I’ve decided that I’m going to have to settle for Lion’s Choice because it is the only fast food place on the way to Powder Valley Nature Center, where I occasionally walk at lunch.

I’m getting ready to pull into the Lion’s Choice lot and I see, for the first time ever, a Subway staring at me from 100 yards away. It’s in a little strip center and either it is new or I’ve just never noticed it. I park.

Walking in, I don’t know what to get, so I order the exact same sandwich as the tall bald guy ahead of me. He looks trustworthy. (I know, I’m such a follower.) We get shuffled up to the cash register end of the counter. The kid tells him it’s $3.76 or some such price and he hands the kid his debit card.

“We only take cash and checks,” the kid says.

“Oh, no. Well…hold the sandwich. Is there a cash machine around?”

Here’s the painful part. I hem and haw. I have plenty of cash on me to buy this guy’s lunch and God has clearly put me in the place to buy this guy’s lunch and I BLEW IT!! The whole time I’m thinking, “I should be saving money. Buying this guy’s lunch isn’t saving money.” Instead, I should have been doing high hurdles to the counter in an effort to pay. It’s all God’s money, not mine. Jesus Christ clearly wanted this guy’s lunch paid for today by one of his really dense followers, and I blew the opportunity to make his love known.

I walked out, dejected, begging God’s forgiveness. Then I had a memory, kind of like what Peter may have had when he looked back on his denials. When I walked into work this morning, I was late and hungry. There had been an accident on the road and I hadn’t eaten breakfast. I walked into the break room for coffee and Dennis, a co-worker, pointed to the counter and said, “My wife and I got some free blueberry muffins from a restaurant last night. There’s one there. Take it.”

Now, in my imagination, God was speaking to me. “I fed you breakfast and you couldn’t even take care of that guy’s lunch? I take care of you. Help me to take care of others.”

Ouch.

A very honest couple. 

My favorite proverbs...

My favorite proverbs are those that cut right to the heart of my personal “issues.”

For example, I like to take naps.

“How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest-
and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.”
-- Proverbs 6:9-11

Gee, Solomon kind of makes it tough to feel good about those short afternoon naps.

I also like to think I’m a pretty smart guy.

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.”
-- Proverbs 11:2

“Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.”
-- Proverbs 3:7

Apparently you’re free to be wise and smart, just don’t tell people you are. Henceforth, I am intellegentis incognito.

I’m sorry to say, I am also occasionally prone to lying.

“An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.”
-- Proverbs 24:26

Had I only known!!! Honesty really IS the best policy.

If only...

1 Kings 3

I'll admit it. I am often unwise. Left on my own, I would crash and burn, sink not swim. I'm a natural-born life-wrecking machine with the power to leave me and those around me in a state of utter despair and impoverishment. I mean it.

I have a measure of wisdom that comes from God, however. And I have a wise wife, also from God. These two elements are the roadside barriers that keep me on the narrow path. In some ways, Tammy is the embodiment of God's wisdom in my life. Any amount of prosperity I enjoy comes from the management of my life through God's gifts of wisdom, gleaned over the years from my parents, from his Word, and from my wife.

Wisdom is the ultimate decision filter. What you do with God's wisdom is very important. The first decision you have to make is a personal one. Will I act on wisdom in my individual life?

An example: I can honestly say that I'm a smoker. I haven't had a smoke for nine years now, but left on my own, I'd be a chimney. I walked by a tobacco shop last week and peered through the window like an adolescent kid trying to get a glimpse of the cute neighbor girl through her blinds. I was looking for my old brand, John Player Special's, a fine English cigarette. I wouldn't have purchased them. I don't even know that they exist anymore. (Yes, there is something unwise about even looking or thinking about them.) Regardless, I didn't walk in and purchase. That was exercising individual wisdom. Our bodies are temples for God. I'm just guessing that I'm supposed to be a 'No Smoking' temple. This temple lasts longer that way. Also, this temple gets to stay with God's other, cuter temple, under the same roof. That temple has said that it will not live with this temple if this temple smokes. Individual wisdom.

But in the passage you read below, there is another key element to wisdom and knowledge that we often overlook. What will we do with God's wisdom outside of our individual realm? Will we do what Solomon modeled for us?

1 Kings 4: 29-34

Solomon imparted his wisdom.

He could've hung onto it and used it for his own selfish means. He could've horded it like a monopolistic monarch. He could have, but he didn't. In fact, he did the opposite. He gave it away in whatever way he could. You could say he was wise with his wisdom. What comes from God is good enough to be given away.

And give it away he did. Solomon penned proverbs – 3000 of them. He wrote songs. He understood the power of multi-media marketing. Get the wise words out in whatever way possible! Solomon even went so far as to develop SolomonU, or the Solomon International Institute of Higher Learning, where you could take courses directly from the professor himself…you didn’t get his teaching assistant or a substitute. Solomon was wise, seemingly humble, full of grace and he loved to teach. What he knew was too good to keep in the box.

You might say to yourself, "If only I had wisdom like that." Well, good news. It is available to you as well. God’s wisdom, given to the wisest of the wise, is still available to you and like all of God’s words, it is meant to be shared. So, ask yourself: What am I doing with God’s wisdom? How am I contributing that wisdom to this world? to the kids in my life? to the people I know? January is a great month to peruse Proverbs. You are invited to open it up and see what wisdom God has to share with you today.

About these things

wouldn't know
what to say
wouldn't know
what to do

wouldn't care
about these things

wouldn't remind myself
when to go
when to leave
when to talk
about these things

when to move
when to sit
silent

so I give
these things
to you.

tell me
talk to me
move me
find me
a way through
these things
your way
through
these things.

born blind
then
there was the soil
upon my eyes
and your touch
and I saw
you
and your way

above these things

-- Rob Lamb, written 12/28/05

I'm back

I'm back, after my self-imposed holiday break. Pay me a visit every now and then!