Holding onto Wisdom

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Fellowship—Snacks or a meal (10 minutes or more)

Gathering Time (5-10 minutes). Right behavior is no guarantee of reward, but it assumes better consequences than wrong behavior. In pairs or threes, think about a time when right behavior was not sufficient for a hoped-for outcome. What happened? How did it feel?

Group Dialogue (about 30 minutes). Read Proverbs 1:20-33.

• Wisdom is personified as a woman who raises a lament that though she has cried out publicly for all to hear, the simple ones ignore, the scoffers ridicule, and the fools resist. Recall the differentiation among these three from last week’s lesson. How do we engage people to hold on to wisdom when they seem set against it?
• Wisdom is clear about the consequences of ignoring her right counsel. Look at the various images she uses to describe what happens to the foolish. What does she say? Is there any recourse? Does she give any encouragement if people change their ways?
• Life is not as simple as “the good benefit and the wicked suffer.” Thinking back to the opening question, consider how you hold on to wisdom (or integrity or compassion or justice) when having the right attitude or behavior just doesn’t seem to get you anywhere.
• Read James 3:1-12. In this passage, wisdom is linked to teachers who, though they may sin, are held to a higher standard because what comes out of one’s mouth is what is most prone to sinfulness. Look especially at verses 8-12. What does it say about “the tongue”? Identify the “couplets” (such as bless and curse). How do we discern what is wise and good in the midst of gossip, lies, misinformation, slander, and misdirection?
• Many of the Wisdom sayings are dichotomous; that is, they posit issues as either/or; right/wrong; wise/foolish. Early Christian instructional materials spoke of The Two Ways (The Didache). In Mark 8:34-38, Jesus describes two ways: denying oneself to gain the kingdom or giving up one’s life for the gospel to save it. Do you really have to give up your life to be saved? Is self-denial the only way to be a part of the kingdom? If an exact “one way or the other” approach is precisely what Jesus meant, what does that say about who is a legitimate follower and heir to the kingdom? If that isn’t exactly what he meant, what do you think he did mean?

Prayer (5-10 minutes) Share prayer requests and respond appropriately.

Sending Forth (2 minutes) End with this prayer, followed by the Lord’s Prayer:

God of Wisdom and God of Power, grant us grace in this hour. Bring us into the fullness of your hope; fill us with right desire; tame our wayward tongues; and embolden us for self-sacrifice; for we ask this in Jesus’ name and for his sake. Amen.

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Diana Hynson is a retired elder, living in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. She has served in local churches, as an editor at The United Methodist Publishing House, and as Director of Learning and Teaching Ministries at Discipleship Ministries. She teaches Sunday school to a lively group of older adults who still enjoy learning.