The One Who Cares
Proverbs 31:10-17 and James 3:13-18
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 22, 2024
Over the last couple weeks, we have been discussing Wisdom in our Generations of Faith class prior to worship, and it has been great discussion.
We have learned, as is pointed out in today’s scripture from James, that there are two types of wisdom. One that is pure and comes down from heaven, and the other devised from earthly reasoning and thoughts.
For today, our focus will be on wisdom that comes from heaven.
As we have considered stewardship this month, it is worth considering that even our thoughts, our wisdom becomes a part of our stewardship journey as well. Perhaps it is wisdom that even drives our desire to be good stewards.
As good stewards of the gospel, it makes sense that we search out the wisdom that reflects the nature of God as we live to be imitators of God.
When we reason, as we have discussed and as Jesus also affirmed, that God is not of this world, then our correct wisdom would come from that which is also not of this world. Correct wisdom being that which is provided by God.
Later today, we will celebrate the marriage of Lance and Zoleima. It is very fitting that this particular Proverbs scripture would be a part of our lectionary today as well, describing a very capable wife.
This scripture describes many traits of wisdom that a capable wife has, and how she can be identified. What a great day to review this scripture!
She is precious, trusted, and does good. She works, plants, gathers and provides. She is not impulsive, and considers what is to be purchased. She is perceptive and always alert. She gives to the poor and needy. She sews not only for herself and her family, but also the community. One of my favorite characteristics….she laughs…she has joy within that she expresses.
She is wise and kind and happy.
Her husband and children praise her, and she fears the Lord.
She fears the Lord.
There it is again, that phrase we read so often in the Bible, “Fear the Lord.”
Unfortunately, some today, I’m afraid, focus too much on fearing the Lord with the wrong meaning. Fear of being thrown into the pit of fire and brimstone of hell. Fear of how God will punish you if you commit a sin. Fear of evil that causes bad things to happen when “we’re not good.”
Yes, there are plenty of instances in the Old Testament of how people were punished by God, beginning with Adam and Eve; however, let’s consider a different meaning of fearing the Lord.
Psalm 34:9 (NIV) says, “Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing.
Proverbs 8:13, “To fear the Lord is to hate evil.”
Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
Newsbreak Church in San Diego, CA, studied the word “fear,” and it’s Hebrew meaning along with the many scriptures in the Bible that use “Fear the Lord,” and believe it comes down to three main responses:
- Giving God your “Undivided Attention.”
Psalm 86:11 (NIV) “Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
When different things demand our attention, we begin to segment off in our hearts and minds which things are most important, and we rank what needs the most attention. Yet, God wants our undivided attention, he is not a part or a segment of our lives, but is our entire life.
- Giving God your “Unrivaled Awe.”
Psalm 47:2 (CSB) “For the LORD, the Most High, is awe-inspiring, a great King over the whole earth.”
In the Hebrew language, “awe-inspiring” and “fear” are the same word.
There is great awe in all the mighty works of God throughout the Bible. Being in awe of something usually makes us do a double-take and grabs our attention so that we pay attention. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is awe-inspiring. Reading the life of Jesus is awe-inspiring.
- Giving God your “Unparalleled Allegiance.”
Deuteronomy 10:12 (NLT) “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? God requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul.”
Being in relationship with God requires total commitment with all your heart and soul.
Newsbreak summarized their findings this way, “Perhaps if we developed a more holistic, healthy fear of God, maybe the anxieties we have today would not carry so much weight. Fearing God comes down to having the right posture before God who wants to live in fellowship with us and guide us when we have the right perspective.”
James says we show by the good life we live, our works that are done with gentleness when they are born of wisdom that is from God.
When we look at the example of the capable wife in our Proverbs scripture, it’s very obvious that the wife’s works are done with gentleness. She simply cares about all those who are around her, and she cares because she fears the Lord in her attention, awe and allegiance to the wisdom God has provided to her.
This reading makes it seem as if it is such an easy task when we just put these same actions in practice; however, when we look closer at her daily routines, we can see all the hard work and toil that goes into all that she does for those that she loves.
Pure wisdom requires we are peaceable, gentle, and willing to yield. Those are hard things for us to do.
Sure we are capable of doing them consistently for a short time, however, to continue doing them requires prayer and dedication to allow ourselves to be led by God, and that requires we take time from all the other things that keep us busy in life, so that we are alert for when God requires our undivided attention.
Wisdom from God is full of mercy and produces good fruit without partiality that we talked about last week, and good fruit that is not hypocritical.
These are tough things to achieve as humans. In fact, they are not achievable in the absence of the wisdom provided by God.
Our scripture ends with this very powerful sentence: “A harvest of righteousness (and remember that righteousness in the Bible means doing what is right in the eyes of God) is sown in peace for those who make peace.
The one who cares, the one who is a good steward like the capable wife, who fears the LORD and cares for others, sews peace, and gathers in return a harvest of peace.
Are we living a stewardship life as one who cares?
(Silent Reflection)