Where Can Wisdom Be Found?

Algebra’s formulas don’t carry over to wisdom and faith - when we try, a host of problems arise.

The days of Algebra class may be far behind us — but we still have the basics.

a+ b = b + a — 3 + 6 is 9 — reverse them 6 + 3 is 9

a + b = b + a — thereore 3 + 6 is 9 and 6 + 3 is 9

a*b = b*a 6x3 is 18 and so is 3*6

a*b = b*a 6x3 is 18 and so is 3*6

Limited to addition and multiplication, these are commutative properties. Switching places, the numbers are said to commute but the outcome doesn’t change. It only works with addition and multiplication - not subtraction, not division or even wisdom matters.

Except when a and b are the same - a-b does not equal b-a. 6-3 is 3 and 3-6 is -3 — The same for division. 6/3 is 2 but 3/6 is 1/2. It only works with addition and multiplication - not subtraction or division or even wisdom matters.

6/3 is 2 but 3/6 is 1/2. These are given truths in our standard numbering system.

These are given truths in our base standard numbering system.

Terrible conclusions result when applying commutative properties to wisdom. That’s especially true with the tough questions - Like the wisdom behind suffering. This past week - Why did God let one more school shooting happen? Sometimes the why questions are rooted in anger — Other times we really want to know — But a host of problems arise when human wisdom attempts to fill in for the divine mystery of God.

Job’s friends speak to why Job is suffering when they should have remained silent.

The prime example is Job’s friends who speak to why Job is suffering when they should have remained silent. Switching the equation for human suffering around, they concluded Job had only himself to blame.

Yet reads, “Job was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” In other words Job was wise on all accounts. Without his knowledge, he was the center of debate between God and Satan. Satan believed that Job only feared God because of Job’s fine house, flocks, fields and family. So God permits Satan to intervene in his life and Job loses everything. Suffering terribly, Job laments his situation, but he does not stop fearing God. Much of the book is a dialogue with his “so called” friends.

They began with godly wisdom. If you sin, there will be suffering. We don’t know their knowledge of Genesis or God’s Covenants - The Bible makes clear there are consequences and punishments for sin. Even for today’s believers, the punishment was covered by Christ, but the consequences of sin remain. Without mercy, a student will face devastating consequences for allegedly posting threats against his school to stay home & play video games.

They started with a saying we know to be true...— If you disobey God, you could suffer for it.

But Job’s friends took the wisdom behind suffering as commutative with terrible results. Their reasoning led to this conclusion - If you suffer - you must have sinned and angered God. a+b = b+a — If you sin there will be suffering. Therefore if you suffer you must have disobeyed God. In theology, this is called Retribution Theory. This is the wisdom they espoused.

To Job’s friend’s the answer was yes.

In theological terms this is called Retribution Theory — others have a simpler name for it like Karma. Though Job admits his sinfulness as all of us are - he professes his innocence. So given it’s universal truth in their opinion Job has done something really really bad in God’s eyes to have lost so much. They took a sometimes truth and in their wisdom turned it into a universal truth by switching the variables around.

No matter Job’s protests of innocence, these friends wouldn’t budge. Job is stunned at the accusations and the lack of answers.

No matter Job’s protests, these friends didn’t listen. Their wisdom which God would hold them accountable for was not godly wisdom. Not the kind of friends you want backing you up and supporting you. Job is stunned at their inability to provide answers to his why questions and laments.

— From Job’s Perspective - Human Superiority over animals, surly the heights of wisdom should be expanding as well.

From Job’s perspective, look how far humanity has come! Industry, Mining, Economics, and Farming. There is much humanity was able to do already far surpassing the animals. But when it comes to the wisdom behind the suffering of the innocent, humanity has no answers.

That’s especially true given human superiority and advancements - Verse 1-11

- Rejecting his friend’s accusations, the wisdom still alludes Job and humanity.

Rejecting his friend’s accusations, the wisdom he desires to still alludes him and humanity.

Verse 13 reads like a Proverb. “Man does not comprehend wisdom’s worth. Wisdom cannot be found in the land of the living.” The wisdom he seeks is beyond humanity’s reach — Such wisdom can’t be minded from the deep nor can it be bought. He finally concludes this wisdom can’t be found in the land of the living . Job is not denying it’s existence. The problem is he and his friends are looking in all the wrong places. Despite all of humanity’s achievements, looking to humanity is not the answer.

- Humanity was deceived into believing wisdom could be gained by human action — eating from the fruit of the tree they were told not to eat from.

- Humanity would make a tower so high that it would touch heaven -

Like Job’s friends, many then and still now rely on poor substitutes with terrible result.

Earthly wisdom does not offer true answers, but it still tries to provide them and convince us its truth.

Like the beginning of - an explosion of technology makes us wonder if there is anything humanity can’t achieve. But we know this to be true - such advances are not equalled by advances in wisdom. Humanity’s reliance on itself is totally inadequate.

Today if you suffer - humanity’s wisdom calls it karma. They have taken a+b and reversed it. If you do bad, there are consequences. Reversed, the so called wisdom concludes — the one suffering must have done something wrong. Pushing God out of the picture, fate will take out its retribution.

ed on it’s head as absolute truth has also been kicked to the curb. But it doesn’t stop there with suffering-

But it’s wisdom completely turned on it’s head as absolute truth has also been kicked to the curb. But it doesn’t stop there with suffering-

But today - that wisdom behind karma is being replaced with another so-called wisdom that we best be aware of. It’s proponents don’t adhere to the fear of God-but they wear badges as the modern intellectual agents of right and wrong. Their new creed comes from twisting a+b equations with even worse conclusions:

If you suffer in any way, you are victim. The second conclusion is this - To not be victim, you should be able to live as you please - marriage or not -whatever your orientation-whatever your gender— male, female, or any of the other six. With absolute truth kicked to the curb, this is the new equation our society and country operates under.

If you suffer in any way, shape, or form — you are an oppressed victim. And likewise --You should be able to live as you please with marriage or not or whatever your orientation— male, female, or any of the other six genders. Once absolute truth and morality was kicked to the curb, this is the new equation our society operates under. Listen carefully for it on both sides of the political aisle - that your candidate will right this wrong. After all if you suffer in any way, shape, or form - you are not at all to blame. You are just an oppressed victim in need of government, in need of me your candidate, your human savior against the enemies who have taken your happiness away.

Listen carefully for it on both sides of the political aisle - because your candidate will right this wrong. If you suffer, you are a victim in need of government - and as your candidate, I will be your hero and restore your happiness.

Magnified to new heights — If you suffer, you are a victim...

This new suffering wisdom is applied to adoptions — Not placing children with couples who want one is makes them suffer. Their license threatened in three states including Michigan - Bethany Christian with its rich history of serving children gave in for what they defended as the greater good of serving children. Catholic Charities took these threats to court and for now won a reprieve.

This new suffering wisdom has been applied to adoptions — Not placing children with any couple who wants one is making them suffer. Bethany Christian was targeted and threatened with suspended licences for adoption and they chose to give into the pressures they said for the greater good of being able to serve the children in need. Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services took these threats to court and for now won a temporary reprieve and continue to place children to male - female families. It remains to be seen if Bethany can reverse course. But its all hooked to this new wisdom-if you suffer, it must be someone else’s fault.

This new suffering wisdom is applied to television and media — Not having characters that represent every gender and orientation, causes suffering. That’s the Mission of GLAAD. With deep pockets and powerful sway in Hollywood and the tech sector, their mission transparent - to use television and social media to change the hearts and minds from the narrow-minded wisdom of the past - Now at 10.2% - 20% of characters must be other than heterosexual. They are applying these same percentages to advertisers writing background stories for commercials.

This new suffering wisdom is applied to education. Using gendered pronouns make students suffer. Across Canada, this is already being implemented — it’s making it’s way on both coasts and Chicago with plans to eliminate gendered pronouns. Given the 8 or more recognized genders, teachers are to refer to a student as the new singular they or them. But it doesn’t stop there.

Enemy number one under this new suffering wisdom is the church - particularly congregations like us who haven’t let go of the absolutes of fearing God and loving neighbor. Not giving our nod of approval to everyone and their free choices makes us the cause of suffering. We are the discriminators. A growing number of candidates are using this reverse a+ b reasoning to say that church tax exemptions will be eliminated if we don’t fall in line with their wisdom and repent of not loving like Christ did. In the end they take fear of God and love of neighbor and twist them in opposition to each other.

So what is the answer --

Without sacrificing wisdom’s end goal of fearing God, we do need to ask ourselves where the church has erred and added to humanity’s suffering - but they use fearing God and loving neighbor in opposition to each other....

So where does Job in the end turn for some relief from the wisdom of his friends?

Verse 20

Verse 20

Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells (and why the innocent suffer)- The reason is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed in God’s creative wisdom.

Grace in the Text

Job finds his relief in continuing to fear God. Read on and Job will seek an audience with God - but in the moment he finds some relief in this - That the God he fears knows why he suffers. The explanation out of reach and beyond his comprehension, there are times it is God’s plan - our ride. I was reminded of that when our friend from the past Steve came to church. He wore a T-shirt made when our friend Roxanne had cancer. God’s plan behind suffering extended far beyond Job’s reach - but he had faith that God knew why. The answers are rooted in God’s creative wisdom. Sometimes the reason is revealed.

Jesus Christ did so with the man born blind. Using the same theory as Job’s friends - In , Jesus’ disciples asked — Who sinned that this man was born blind? Turning this retribution wisdom on its head - Jesus answers them “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

To a church blamed and targeted for persecution — The Apostle Peter answered in - These trials have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Most of the time - the reason for suffering does remain hidden except in the rarest of instances - in Job’s life, in Jesus’ humiliating life dying on the cross for us and in the blind man’s being born blind. But in none of these were they to be blamed. Despite all our achievements, humanity makes a mess subbing in for God’s wisdom.

Being attuned to God’s wisdom, (Fearing the Lord & Loving our neighbor) God gives us ears to hear and discern wisdom from foolishness.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.To a church targeted for persecution “These have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when jesus Christ is revealed 1 pet 1 7 God alone has access to such wisdom related to human suffering — except in the rarest of instances - in Job’s life and in Jesus life all the way to the cross this sort of wisdom remains hidden from us.

Grace in the World

Being attuned to God’s wisdom, God gives us ears to hear and discern wisdom from foolishness - including the efforts of those who blame all suffering on being a victim. Our God-given ears burn red or ring when alternatives to God’s wisdom is sounded.

Being attuned to God’s wisdom, still stands today as a rebuke of worldly wisdom. There is no substitute except for this: The fear of the Lord - that is wisdom and to shun evil that is understanding.

Our response to humanity is not to build walls and insulate ourselves - but like Paul walking around Athens - to come to some understanding of this other wisdom so that we might love our neighbor and show that heavenly wisdom remains superior. Other times like Paul did in his letters, it was to warn those who were giving up on fearing God and loving neighbor. We don’t just stand back and say it’s not our fire to fight.

We don’t have access to the wisdom behind suffering - But we do know this - wisdom will not be had without knowing God and his Son, Jesus Christ. It’s okay to admit it’s hard not knowing - maybe in time God will give us a glimpse. But in these few moments, Job finds relief and so can we. But for now in faith - The fear of the Lord-that is wisdom and to shun evil that is understanding.