Action of Wisdom

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

ACTION OF WISDOM

Matt 11:16-19

16 "To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 17 "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions." 

NIV

There are some who would restrict these comments of Jesus to the Jews only because of the use of the word, generation. The Greek word is genea, which is where we get genealogy, or a particular gene, such as the Israelites, all in the genealogy from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But this word can refer to the age as well. That is the age in which man lives. That could encompass from the time of Jesus to the present time. We refer to this age, this period as the age of grace. The reason we are thinking along this line is that these words of Jesus can still apply to the age in which we live, this generation of ours. The point Jesus is making is that many are simply dissatisfied in their lives. It does not matter if we believers refrain from all the vices of the world, there are some who will think poorly of us because of our faith. However, if we openly eat and drink, enjoying some of the goods of this life, they think badly of us, perhaps even saying we are hypocrites. This is the reason Jesus used that example of playing a flute, happy tunes, but no one danced and singing a dirge or a funeral song, and no one mourned. It does not matter what we do, there will always be those who will not respond to the music we play, the songs we sing, the gospel we share. Although we are supposed to be witnesses, and live a life reflecting the glory of God, and even speaking up for Jesus, we cannot live totally in response to the world’s whims. In other words, we cannot try to please everyone thinking that will cause them to listen to us. For the most part, what pleases the world is for us to remain silent and keep to ourselves, never infringing on our lives of sin. However, it does not matter of the approval or disapproval of men, but that we live to please God. This is wisdom being proved right by our actions, of living so to please God. Wisdom means we understand the truth and live by it and therefore are approved by God. This does not mean we are sinless, but merely are understanding of whose approval we need, Gods and not man. Our approval by God is dependent on our accepting his grace, accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Again, His approval is not like the approval of men, dependent on what music we play or song we sing, but rather on our being in Christ. The action of wisdom is accepting Jesus, while the foolish play their games like children imitating their parents.