Get Wise

The people of God have work to do in this country. Last time, we discussed how we need to get better at judging each other. To do that well, we’re going to need wisdom. 

Anyone who has been following Jesus for even a brief time should know how essential it is to seek wisdom. While Scripture is dripping with calls to be wise, one of my favorites actually comes in the form of a plea. When Solomon first finds himself ruling God’s people, the Lord offers him the chance to ask for literally anything. Given the track record of Israel’s kings up to that point, this reads as a tense moment. Solomon, however, deeply pleases God by asking not for riches, not for long life, but for wisdom. In a powerful display of humility, Solomon admits he is not capable of governing Israel on his own; he needs godly wisdom. 

Note: godly wisdom. 

There are, after all, two broad categories of wisdom presented in Scripture: that of God, and that of this world. Just as God’s word commands us to seek wisdom, it distinguishes between the wisdoms we might seek. As Paul put it to the Corinthians: “the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” Not only is Scripture clear that we should seek wisdom, it is equally plain that what God considers wisdom does not align with how our world—and certainly our nation—defines that concept. 

Despite these calls to embrace godly wisdom over any other, some of the best data we have shows American Christians relied on decidedly wordly justifications for supporting Donald Trump. More than anything, I’m saddened by what this data seems to show about the economy. Close to half of voters surveyed indicated the economy was the top issue governing their vote. Importantly, a majority of voters in every age demographic considered Donald Trump to be more reliable regarding economic issues. All this points to the fact that we let the fact eggs have been pretty expensive compel us to champion a decidedly ungodly candidate. 

My heart breaks when I look at these statistics, largely due to the selfishness it exposes. Our economy—which seems to be doing fine, despite how we feel about it—proved a more important issue than literally anything else. Our concern over health care, abortion, climate, and foreign policy combined couldn’t come close to touching how much we fretted over our collective bottom line. It seems the second we start feeling the pinch on our wallets, all our other concerns evaporate. 

To be clear, as a follower of Jesus I choose to have empathy toward those who considered the economy their most important issue. I choose to believe these voters were not just obsessed with having more to spend on frivolous pleasures. I can even choose to believe much of their concern came from what could be a godly place. Maybe it came from a desire to provide a home; to provide an education; to just keep food on the table. 

Yet even with all that empathy I’m still sad, largely because of how explicitly Scripture promises—and demonstrates—that God will provide for his people. It’s at times like this I wish people could talk to missionaries as often as I get to, specifically those who fully rely on donations to fund their ministry. Ask anyone who has lived in such a situation—myself included—about a time God provided beyond anything they could imagine; you’ll get to hear some fantastic stories. This is because our God is a promise keeping God. If he says he’ll provide for us, he will.

Yet as in so many things, American Christians once again chose to trust our nation to solve our problems instead of our God. Time will tell if this was a wise decision, but the fact that we relied on such worldly discernment to make this call does not inspire hope. What we can say for sure is that relying on worldly wisdom did not drive us to champion a godly candidate. Predictably, our dependence on worldly discernment drove us away from the ability to clearly represent the holiness of Jesus. 

I will, again, try to choose empathy here. I will choose to believe that most American Christians thought long and hard about how to vote. I will choose to believe they even sought godly wisdom about how they should vote. After all, my brothers and sisters in Christ have the same opportunity to hear from the Holy Spirit as I do. Like Solomon, all of us should be dependent on God in order to discern how we can best live as his people in this world. 

In the end, we just let our worry over how to make ends meet drown out the voice of our Lord, and his loving reminders that he can—and will—provide all we need as we faithfully follow him. Not all we want, but all we need. 

Thankfully, our God is gracious, and American Christians can still choose to repent and listen to Scripture’s call to get wisdom. Actual, godly wisdom. 

If we, instead, choose to keep seeking the wisdom of this world, we’ll find ourselves grasping at nothing more than a cheap, ultimately disappointing imitation. 

The choice is ours to make. Two weeks ago, we chose poorly. Yet each day presents us with another opportunity to heed the wisdom of God over that of this world. I choose to have hope we’ll make a better call tomorrow.