Encourage, Enlighten, & Inspire.
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’ve been getting smarter lately. I’m getting smarter because my brain is getting bigger. I know this because my head is getting bigger. No, I don’t measure my head. That would be weird. I know my head is getting bigger because I can visually see that my forehead is getting bigger. Some may say it’s a receding hair line but I choose to believe that all the knowledge and observations and application of life lessons that I’ve learned in my 30 something years are just adding up. Isn’t that how those martian guys get such big heads? It’s cause they’re smart, right? Now before you turn the page, I want you to think about something other than whether you think I believe in aliens or not. You know you are. I don’t, unless they land in my backyard. In which case, I would. I want us to think about how we can be smarter. I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the last few years and have a few thoughts. First, I think we associate being smart with one of two things wittiness or being a genius. We think of wit because of the tv shows we watch. We watch characters banter dialogue back and forth and think to ourselves, “I wish I could have a repertoire like him” or “Wow, I wish I could be quick with my tongue like her”. There’s a problem with this, though. IT’S NOT REAL!!! No one
talks like that. Just because you saw it on The West Wing four years ago and are still impressed doesn’t mean it happens in real life, because it doesn’t. The other association is being a genius. Well, that would mean that I’m out because I’m no Stephen Hawking (he believes in aliens). We associate being book smart and learning with being smart. Why is it then that some of the smartest people in the world still have jacked up lives like the rest of us? Shouldn’t their smarts raise them to the top of the smarts food chain? Shouldn’t they have a leg up in the “better life” department? Why do they get divorces, or overdose, or have wacky-out-there theories on the world that everyone else knows is borderline insane? I would like to inject that being smart has little to do with those and everything to do with your decisions and choices. When people look at your life and evaluate you they aren’t looking at how much knowledge your brain holds or whether you’re quick tongued. They’re looking at the decisions that you have made in your life. No one ever says that someone who is using drugs is smart. No one ever says that someone who cheats is smart. People look at your life and see the choices you make. This is why people who make wise choices in life rise to the top. I’m not talking about some wise old man that sits on top of a mountain and spurts out sayings that seem profound (he just got those off the internet anyway). I’m talking about the average guy or girl, man or woman who makes everyday wise decisions. This is why some of the smartest people I know have no education past high school. They make wise choices. In the bible there was a guy named Solomon. He is credited with being the wisest man to ever live. Here is how it happened. One day
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God told Solomon to ask for anything he wanted. What a deal huh? If it were you, what would you ask for? Money, health, fame? Solomon could have asked for more money but he was a king and already had a lot of that. He could have asked for women but again he is the king. He could have asked that the world be his but he realized that he was having problems governing his own kingdom. So he asked for this an understanding heart. Solomon asked for a heart that was discerning. I’m not making this up. Seriously!?!? Look it up yourself. It’s in the bible in 1st Kings Chapter 3. This is wisdom. This is the epitome of being smart. God granted him this wisdom and by making wise choices Solomon ruled a kingdom peacefully and had everything he needed or wanted. For a while anyway. He did still make a few unwise decisions. He got involved with a girl he shouldn’t have. This began his downfall. We’ve all been there or seen how the wrong person can screw up our lives. He started making himself bigger than God. In doing so, he wore out the people who served him. We’ve all been here too. This is called selfishness. It’s when you put yourself and your wants before God and His call on your life. Solomon explains in a book of the bible called Proverbs that wisdom involves having a disciplined and prudent life. It involves having knowledge and discretion. It requires you to get advice and guidance from people who are wiser than you. It requires you not listening to the rest of the world but listening to the only one who has total control over this world. It requires faith. Faith that is complete trust. It requires a trust in the Lord that involves giving your heart and life over to Him because, just like Solomon, He can guide your life down the correct path. That is, if
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you make wise choices, if you deal with the big things and the little things through the filter of wisdom. If you choose to make unwise decisions, well, you’re on your own. Wisdom is about making wise choices. It is almost always about the long-term and not the short-term. It sometimes can be painful in the short-term but it is always rewarding in the long term. Wisdom is rarely flashy but is always fulfilling. Wisdom seems complex but actually only requires that you lean on the One who has all wisdom. If you do, then maybe, like me, you’ll realize you’re just losing your hair.
Jason McReynolds is the pastor of New Orleans Community Church. He and his wife, Liev, have three children.
To
learn more about him, or NOCC, visit: www.neworleans community church. com