A Resolution to be Wiser
By Rev. Tom Parkinson
My New Year’s resolution is to be wiser by the end of the year than I am today. On the surface, it sounds like a strange resolution. Aren’t we supposed to resolve to lose weight, or save more money, or pray more often? What does it even mean to resolve to be wiser? How do you measure whether such a resolution has been accomplished?
Odd as it sounds, I believe God is calling me to intentionally seek greater wisdom in 2025. As a matter of fact, I believe God is calling Dutilh Church to become wiser this year. That’s why I have chosen “Wisdom” as our 2025 preaching theme.
We live in a culture that doesn’t give a lot of thought to wisdom. We value technology, celebrity, athleticism, physical beauty, and wealth, but we do not value wisdom. You will never stand in line at the grocery story glancing at a magazine cover extolling the 100 wisest people. In previous eras of history, wisdom was celebrated as one of the highest ideals. It’s why the philosophers were the heroes of the Greek world (“philosopher” literally means “lover of wisdom”). But not our culture. We aren’t very interested in wisdom.
What is wisdom? It is practical knowledge for navigating the twists and turns of everyday life. The great philosopher, Socrates, said that wisdom answers the question, “how should we live?” Wisdom is knowing what to say and do in response to the daily questions of life.
Should I go to the doctor now, or wait to see if it gets worse? Should I buy a new car or wait until I’ve saved more money? Do I try to mediate a quarrel among my friends or stay out of it? Do we send our daughter to kindergarten this year or hold her back? How do I gently tell my parents that it’s time to sell the house and move into assisted living? It takes wisdom to answer all of these questions. But where do we turn to find wisdom?
The Bible has much to say about the human search for wisdom. True, the Bible is concerned with ultimate questions of eternal significance. But the Bible is also concerned with giving us practical knowledge that we can apply to our daily living. Throughout scripture, we find practical advice on how to have healthy relationships, manage our time, steward our finances, and handle adversity. The Bible is a treasure trove of wisdom nuggets to help us navigate life.
All year long, our messages will focus on wisdom we can glean from the Bible. My hope is that by spending the year seeking God’s wisdom, we will all be able to live better, with greater faithfulness to God’s purpose and design for our lives.
This Sunday, January 5th, we will begin our year-long quest for wisdom with a series called “Power of Praise.” In his Confessions, Saint Augustine wrote, “man wants to praise you…you stimulate him to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”
God made us to praise and worship and we are never more fully ourselves than when we are in a posture of praise toward God. Do you want to be wiser? It’s starts with praising God. To live well, we must worship well! It’s the wise thing to do.