Whatever you do, do not be true to yourself

It’s graduation season, and as I engaged in the happy celebrations on my sister’s special day, it dawned on me that in this season, there abounds a multitude of counsel for the eager happy graduates, who have come through divers trials to make it through to a new life stage.

As I listened to speech after speech sharing sage advice, it came upon me strongly that sometimes we seek the counsel of God in important moments, and other times we don’t. Not because we don’t want to, but sometimes the wisdom of the world seems just enough.

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“Whatever you do, do not be true to yourself”

Last night I received an email for a Crossway article with the hilarious title: Whatever you do, do not be true to yourself. I just knew I had to share what the Lord had been teaching me in this season about the limitations - and even deception - of the wisdom of the world, in contrast to the superiority of the wisdom of God. As with every lesson in the School of the Spirit, I went through it with express humility, assuming nothing. Because even for those of us who have the spirit of God - and unlimited access to the wisdom of God - we are not always able to discern and apply it. As we explored in this post on being led by God, we know that accuracy in discernment can be challenging and that it takes practice:

“But solid food belongs to those who are mature, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised (trained) to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5:14

Food here means “nourishment”, and spiritual nourishment comes from the word of God (Matthew 4:4) - both from Scripture or by discerning the voice and leadings of God. Paul is saying that solid (trusted) leadings belong to those who have trained their ability to discern the wisdom of God.

Discernment is an exercise of the senses - it takes practice. Exercise in this verse is the Greek word /gymnazō/ which means “to strive earnestly to train the body and mind”. Paul wrote this and many other “sports” references in his writings after watching the trainings and preparations for the Greek (Isthmian) Games (a foundation of Olympic Games) in Corinth around AD 51 when the games were to be held. Like his mentor Jesus, he used the things naturally occurring and familiar to the understanding of the people he taught. As believers discernment is available to us, but we must strive for it, purposed to win. And there is only one way to avoid the pitfalls of the wisdom of the world:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Not in some of our ways, and some of the time - but all ur ways, all of the time. Even when things appear simple, as spirit beings we know that many things are more than meets the natural eye.

What does it really mean to be wise?

I was on a retreat with a group of lovely ladies over the last few days, and we studied how our God loves to conceal Himself, to be found only by those who deeply desire to find and know him (Isaac 45:15, Matthew 6:4). As such believers, we must use all the tools available to us in studying God’s word: from concordance and Hebrew/Greek lexicons, to dictionaries and spiritual meditations. This is part of the striving for excellence Paul teaches we must embark on, to discern eternal Kingdom realities from simple natural words.

According to Merriam-Webster, wisdom is the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships; to have a good sense. I like that definition because it implies both a spiritual and natural component. According to the Bible, the most reliable source of any meaning, Wisdom is defined in Hebrew (Old Testament) and in Greek (New Testament):

/Sophia/

The Greek definition of Wisdom (Sophia) is separated into: a) that of man including learnings, and b) the Supreme Intelligence of God (the wisdom of God, evidenced in forming and executing counsels, and in the formation and government of the world)

/Hāḵmâ/

The Hebrew word for Wisdom (ḥāḵmâ), according to Gesenius’ Lexicon, translates to the “skill of an artificer” and “dexterity”. Both meanings refer to a skilled or artistic worker or craftsman: One who makes or contrives a thing. I believe the Hebrew meaning gives us more to delineate the wisdom of God from that of man. Not surprising, because Theologians often use what is called the “Law of first mention” to understand a thing based on its first appearance in Scripture.

We know that men create and devise, but there can never be anything created by man that is not sourced from God. Everything possible is found in God - as He is the source of all things - the Master Builder, Planner and Creator.

For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. - Hebrews 3:4

The Wisdom of God

I clearly love the Bible, and I would love to write a post defending the immutability of it as God’s word if led to do so - just based on conversations I have had even with "believers" who struggle with this. Every Christian must know the basics of apologetics to defend the faith through the lens of History, Theology and Spirituality. If we truly study the Bible, we will be amazed by the order and wisdom of God. He purposed all things from the beginning - from the time of Abraham and Moses - to bring them to fulfillment through and in the office of His Son, Jesus (Ephesians 1:10).

It is my delight to repeat as often as I can, that the New Testament did not came to cancel the Old, but to bring to full clarity the realities God had been trying to communicate to man, now through His most personal Representative, Jesus. I can’t wait to discuss with you on the Incarnate and Pre-Incarnate Word (Logos) of God which is Jesus. Most believers think that Jesus as the Express Image of the Father (Colossians 1:15) appeared in the New Testament, which means they have not encountered his various appearances in the Old testament. One of such appearances is Moses and the elders eating with God (seeing his feet) on top of Mount Sinai in Exodus 24, yet when Jesus came on the scene he said that No one has seen the Father (John 6:46). So who was Moses dining with? - The Express Image of the Father., who we have come to know as Jesus.

Knowing Jesus is not irrelevant to our course on Wisdom. Apostle Paul explains clearly what the Wisdom of God is in 1 Corinthians 1. Let’s explore some of these characteristics:

• “For Christ sent me ..to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” (Verse 17)

The Wisdom of God is not a wisdom of words. If we limit it to words, the Cross of Christ cannot be effective. Hence, the Gospel is preached with a Wisdom that surpasses words.

• “For the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (Verse 18)

The preaching of the cross is Wisdom to us who are being saved (the active, continuous tenses: being & perishing, are very intentional), as it is foolishness to others. The preaching of the Cross carries the Power of God and is One with the Wisdom of God.

• “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (Verse 20)

The Wisdom of God diminishes every other type of wisdom that exists.

• “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” (Verse 21)

It was the wisdom of God to save us through a means that can never be understood by a wisdom approved by the sages of this world, but through a message of Love and the system of the Cross - a system designed by man for torture, and transformed by God for the salvation of His beloved creation.

Which brings us to the spiritual revelation of the Wisdom of God:

• “but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (Verses 23 - 24)

We saw above that the preaching of the Cross carries the Power of God and is One with the Wisdom of God - because Christ is both; the Power and the Wisdom of God. I also love how this connects Jesus and the Holy Spirit:

“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued (clothed) with power from on high.” Luke 24:49

The Promise of the Father is the Holy Spirit being poured out to dwell in us, which was to come with the endowment of the Power of God. Christ is the Power of God, and the Holy Spirit carries the Power of God - being the Spirit of the Father and the Son.

Proverbs 8: The Excellence of Wisdom

If we read this chapter now with the fresh understanding of Christ Jesus as the Wisdom of God, we can hear the voice of the Excellence of Wisdom in Proverbs 8more clearly:

• V. 14: “ Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength.” - As believers, the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, is our counsel and strength.

• V. 23 & 24: “I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth. When there were no depths I was.. When He prepared the heavens, I was there..” - Jesus has been with the Father from the beginning, as Apostle John (the Revelator) also revealed.

• V. 30: “Then I was beside Him as a Master Craftsman” - We established earlier, that the superior wisdom of God is defined by His superior craftsmanship in creating everything that exists.

It is impressive that these revelations were written in the Proverbs of Solomon, who was yet to experience the realities of the Christ (in the natural realm anyway) and yet through the Spirit of Wisdom, he foretold these dense revelations; simply amazing.

• Why does Solomon use the term “she” when explaining Wisdom?

There are 2 sides to God as also expressed in creation: male and female. This refers not only to gender, but also to qualities. I will struggle to explain this briefly but here is a quick reference:

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

This is a popular Psalm of King David. But the Hebrew word for “Delight” here actually means “to be soft, delicate and dainty”. David was saying that the enjoyment of God carries what we would assign feminine qualities.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:27

This verse is about the creation of our spirits (not the formation of our bodies which came later in chapter 2:7) and confirms that the image of God is dual.

There are numerous scriptures that reveal this. As Paul said, there is wisdom that cannot be communicated with words but by the Spirit. So I pray that the Hoy Spirit continues to give us understanding.

The Wisdom of Man and of the World

It’s hard to come down from the height of beauty that is the wisdom of God, but it’s important to step down to look at the other side of things. The wisdom of man and of the world can seem as one and the same, but as I studied I realized they aren’t always:

The Wisdom of Man

The wisdom of man can come from believers and unbelievers alike - for believers it happens when we lean on our own understanding. There is a dimension of God’s glory invested in mankind, which is why we might have achieved amazing things even before we really believed. But this dimension, and this wisdom is greatly limited and untrustworthy.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

The word heart here refers to the inner man: our spirit. This is the part of us that God communicates with, being a Spirit. As believers we trust the Lord with our hearts by engaging our hearts to the truths in our spirit - not to our flesh: senses or emotions. Because the understandings or wisdom that reaches our minds depend on where our heart is leaning.

One of my teachers said “No matter how renewed your mind is it can never communicate the wisdom of God”, and my spirit receives that. The mind alone cannot communicate the wisdom of God, it must come from the heart engaged with the spirit which is receiving from the Spirit of God. The mind translates what it is fed - either by God and His word, or by society, environment, people or other spirit influences.

The Wisdom of the World

The Wisdom of the world is far more entertaining to me. We do not really know from whence these sayings came, but somehow everyone knows and accepts them (I wonder why, when the world still rejects Jesus), and relies on them as truth. But there is only one Truth, accessible only when we accept Jesus as the Way, and leading us up to Life eternal - both now and in the age to come.

I enjoy studying the age to come. It is a vast but necessary topic, and many believers do not understand the dynamics of the age to come; including that the outcome of our lives in that age (for both the saved and damned) will depend on what we do in this age. Imagine if you had the opportunity to setup the realities of your life right now based on what you did in another project of God’s - would you want to do it right?

I say all this because we must test the wisdom of the world, in the same way that our works will be tested when this age passes away: at the Judgement Seat of Christ for believers, and at the White Throne Judgement, for unbelievers. Yes - believers have a separate judgement setting from unbelievers. Apostle Paul wrote to believers saying:

“Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day (of the Lord ) will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” 1 Corinthians 3: 13-15

So we test all things with scripture, the fire test of God, as laid out in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5:

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds: Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”

The word thought here means every perception; every perception or understanding must submit to the knowledge of God which is the obedience of Christ - who is the wisdom of God. We do not defeat the world by logic, but by the faith (1 John 5:4).

So let’s look at some popular nuggets of worldy wisdom, and submit them to the fire test - the backing of Scripture:

• “Have an open mind” -

A teacher of mine once wrote “Don’t come with an open mind, come with the Word of God in mind”. This contrast quickly explains why we need to be careful about the openness of our minds.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

Only a renewed mind can prove the will of God, not an open mind. In fact, the Mind is the real battlefield in this age, and we cannot afford to leave it open to just any influence. As Paul wrote, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. How are these strongholds pulled down? “Casting down imaginations, and bringing into captivity every thought”. These are mental terms: Strongholds can exist in the spirit realm, but they are formed in the mind and are evidenced by mental traits like addiction, anger, lust, lack of self control and many more.

• "Be true to yourself" -

Every single man on earth - from believers to atheists - are under the influence of a spirit. And it is dangerous to be true to yourself if you are under the influence of the wrong spirit. Spirits possess men - that is the way it works. Even (and perhaps especially) atheists are under the influence of a spirit. But don’t take my word for it:

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” - 2 Corinthians 4:4

Whatever men are and exhibit, in terms of traits and character, are sponsored by spirits. Even technological advancements are sponsored by spirits. How do we know what is influencing a thing? Jesus said in Matthew 7:16 “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?”.

The sponsorship of a spirit is determined by the fruit - the thought, word or action - of that thing. Sponsorship of the Spirit of God is also clearly laid out as anything that exhibits the fruit of the Spirit of God, which are: love, joy, peace, forbearance/patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. By these qualities we should be highly suspicious of many forms of so-called societal advancements which generate envy, greed, pride and many oppositions to the fruit of the Spirit.

• "Seeing is believing" -

This one is quite obviously the opposite of Faith.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

Jesus also tells us: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). We walk by faith and not by sight, because there are many eternal realities that are yet unseen by the natural man, or yet to manifest in a specific moment in time.

Paul instructs us rightly, to “look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient (will pass away), but the things that are unseen are eternal”. Unseen realities are much more powerful than those seen because:

1. Every reality on earth is first fashioned in the unseen heavens - both the good and also the evil:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

2. There are realities we must believe by faith and experience by the Spirit, but we will never see physically until this age passes away.

“For we know that if the earthly tent [our physical body] which is our house is torn down [through death], we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Corinthians 5:1

Paul says we Know, not we Assume. Eternal life is a possibility because of the faith of men that allowed God to translate his plans and realities to us - and is accessed only by Faith.

• "Do what makes you happy" -

The world thinks of “you” as one entity, but in reality we are of a tripartite nature. More importantly, two parts of man are in constant at war with each other:

“For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are at war with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” Galatians 5:17

We are not meant to do what makes us happy, we are created to do what pleases God. The good news is that what pleases God is showering us with love. This purpose is what our spirits, deep down, truly desire to do - and what we will be judged based on.

“Our only goal is to please God. We want to please him whether we live here or there. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. Each one will receive what he should get—good or bad—for the things he did when he lived in the earthly body.” 2 Corinthians 5:9-11

By now, we have very much debunked the “You only live once” wisdom. We know that this intricate project of life on earth is setup for much more than for man to live and die aimlessly.

• "You can’t please everyone" -

This is a good one, because it contains some truth (as do most of these), however it is dangerous wisdom to subscribe to. I’ll share how.

The word “please” implies an act of love - and by definition, means to act in a way that makes one feel happy or satisfied. Jesus came to satisfy the thirst of every man’s soul: for purpose and happiness. He came to show us the Way to true happiness and satisfaction. The gospel has not been received by all but does not make it any less for all. Jesus did not make everyone happy, but he certainly came to try.

Secondly, what we commonly call “pleasing others” or “people-pleasing” most often is not the desire to see people truly happy and satisfied - which is selfless. As a repented “people-pleaser” I can testify that the “people-pleasing” the world condemns is more accurately Self-seeking - selfishly motivated actions to end of being liked or seen as superior to others.

I pondered this one after an experience which left me meditating on why my kindness is sometimes taken advantage of. I went on instagram after the incident and (conveniently) encountered a guy who sounded very wise saying that you can’t be nice to everyone or you will be taken advantage of. I had actually received this message, only to turn to my Bible studies that night and encounter this verse from Paul, sent to me at the right time by Mercy:

“just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.” 1 Corinthians 10:33

How timely this word came to me because if not, the seed of the wisdom of the world would have taken root, making me change my countenance to one that protects myself from the “abuse” of the world. But instead 2 Thessalonians 3:3 says:

"the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one."

It is God’s duty to protect us, and not our own, and the word Father (Abba) means Source, Sustainer and Foundation. We cannot protect ourselves even if we tried, we will only end up in error and with hardened hearts. Our duty is love, and sometimes that love will get you persecuted, but that was the same for Jesus who is our model for life. Because as the Father glorified Jesus through his obedience even in suffering, so shall we be glorified together with Jesus.

“our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18

I think that’s a good place to end this one. I challenge myself and all of us to counter the wisdom of the world that are empty and lead to error, with the superior and confounding wisdom of God - whenever we encounter them.

After all, we are the light of this world, and the candle of our God.

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Grace-Grace.