We talked last week about how we are all people of influence, because by what we say and what we do we influence others all the time, and we ourselves are influenced by others. We said too how we could either be a positive influence or a negative influence. And how if we live like Jesus, and the more like Jesus we become, the better influence we’ll be on those we interact with. We also talked about the value of a good reputation, how much more important it was than great riches – a reputation not for what we do, but for who we are.
I think the difficulty we each face, all of us all the time, is sorting through all that bundle of influence that happens all the time, and sorting out the good influence from the bad influence. You with me? What are the good influences and what are the bad influences. Because all of us carry with us the collective influence passed on to us by the people who’ve been most significant in our lives - from parents, friends, teachers, leaders, relatives, hairdressers, taxi drivers, just about everybody … all the people who shaped and molded us as we were growing up. I can still remember my Mum talking about one of my mates saying, “He’s a bad influence.”
Some good, some bad. So how do we sort through it all? What’s the thing we need to work it all out? It’s wisdom.
Some of the influence is very helpful. But some of it’s just plain wrong. Some of the influence and attitudes and world view that we picked up growing up was most likely wrong. For instance, one of the mottos passed on by many parents to kids growing up is, "Look out for number one." By saying we need to look out for number one, we meant that in the end, each person has to look out for his or her own needs first. Looking out for number one means I make sure my needs are met, and then I’ll start thinking about your needs. So many people today try to live by that. But when they get married that soon work out this is pretty bad advice. You get two people living by that motto, you’ll never sustain a long term relationship of mutual commitment. By the time you start having kids, you quickly realise that it’s impossible to live a wise life by embracing that motto.
Another motto I had growing up was, If There’s a Problem, Find a Way-Out. So early in life, I learned to lie; to come up with reasons to justify misdemeanors – from simple ones to terrible ones. I could concoct the most wonderful stories to try and get out of trouble. Some even worked, which made me even cockier. Until I thought I could get out of anything – yeah, right. I got upended by the wisdom of parents and teachers and others.
Wisdom helps us sort out the good ideas from the bad ones, the good advice from the bad advice, the decisions we make, the things we say, what we do with our time and our talents and our money – oh if every decision I’d made in life had been a wise one, hey?
Jesus was wise. Would you agree? In Luke 2: 52, when Jesus was still a boy or young man, Luke records that ‘Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men.’
The book of Proverbs was written as a book of wisdom. In the intro – Chapter 1, we read the words – Come here and listen to me. I’ll pour out the spirit of wisdom upon you and make you wise. I love that. How often I’ve prayed that prayer – Lord, pour out the spirit of wisdom upon me and make me wise. Paul prayed it for the Ephesian church – chapter 1:17 – ‘I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
We get so many influences, so much brain input in each day, it’s incredible. Images, sounds, smells, words. They’ve done studies and found for instance that we are exposed to somewhere between 2 and 3 thousand advertising images a day. Brands, logos, jingles. You are being influenced when you read a newspaper or watch a TV show or listen to a radio broadcast. I was sooking the other night about how in this day and age, everybody thinks they have to have an opinion about everything and be free to express that opinion. And we all read and hear these opinions and somewhere along the line we have to sort through all this brain input and decide what’s right, what’s healthy, what to adopt and what to discard, what we agree with and disagree with and what we should do about it, and what we like and what we don’t like and what God would have us do and what we should stay away from and who we should to talk to about it all and aaaggghhh – we need some God –given wisdom.
Proverbs 2: 6 – ‘For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of good sense to the godly.
That’s what I need.
And verse 9 – ‘then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will know how to find the right course of action every time. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy.’
I want that wisdom. I want to be a dispenser of that God-given wisdom to those around me. I want to be able to make sense of life from a heavenly, Kingdom perspective. I want to see through God’s eyes. I want to live like Jesus, with wisdom.
Proverbs 4: 7 – Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do!
I like verse 12 too – If you live a life guided by wisdom, you won’t limp or stumble as you run.
Wisdom. Lord pour out your Spirit of wisdom upon me. Pour out your Spirit of wisdom on all of us.
Who here wants to be wise?
Well, let’s just pause now for a moment, and individually pray this prayer – Pour out your Spirit of wisdom on me…..
God-given wisdom – a beautiful thing. But it’s not like magic – it’s not a zap and all of a sudden you’re wise. Wisdom comes through the art of reflection. Wisdom is gained as we look back and reflect on the experiences of each day and ask ourelves questions – like what did I learn about myself through that experience? What did I learn about others? Where was God in it? What can I do differently or better next time. Reflection. Stopping, reflecting. At the end of the day, or at times during the day. Wisdom comes through the art of reflection. God doesn’t zap us with wisdom, but guides our minds as we reflect, allowing us to come up with answers to the questions, and to show us where God was active in our lives.
Can I share with you some little pearls of wisdom that I’ve gained through reflection? Some Colin Lane proverbs? I mean there are tons of proverbs and bits of wisdom in the Bible, the book of Proverbs is full of them, but these are just a few little ones from my life. And as I’m sharing, if you’ve got one or think of one, you could jot it down on the back of your card…
So here are some things that I’ve read and learned and heard, and have helped make my life a good deal easier and happier and more productive.
((1) If you can’t change facts, try bending your attitude
Three young boys were walking to school, when dark clouds rolled in and out of nowhere it began to absolutely bucket down. One straight away ran as fast he could for the nearest bit of shelter, and cowered underneath an awning. One pulled his jumper up over his head, and despondently kept trudging along on his way. The third boy seemed to be delighted, throwing his hand high in the air, opening his mouth to catch the rain, and with a wide grin and a hearty laugh walked on.
I’ve had numerous occasions since entering the ministry of visiting people who were dying. Some, like my mum, fail to accept that that is what’s going to happen. Even in the week before her death, Mum would say to anyone who asked how she was that she was fine, feeling great, and ready to go home. Some are really angry and bitter – why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve this? It’s not fair.
Then I visited one man who had set up his bed in the lounge room, and surrounded by his kids and grandkids told me how the last week had been the best and most beautiful time of his life, because he’d had his family all together, around him, loving him. Hugs and kisses from his grand children and heartfelt expressions of love and care from those closest to him.
If you can’t change the facts, try bending your attitude. Check it for yourself – you’ll see that faced with a given set of problems, one person may tackle them with intelligence, grace and courage; another may act with resentment and bitterness; a third may run away altogether. In any situation in life, facts tend to remain unyielding. But attitudes are a matter of choice – and that choice is up to you.
2(2) Don’t come up to the net behind nothing
The tennis player who follows his own weak or badly placed shot into the net is hopelessly vulnerable.
I remember going into a meeting once with what I thought was a great suggestion. But another guy at the meeting didn’t agree. Where I had opinions he had facts; where I had theories he had statistics. He knew more about the subject than me, and his viewpoint easily prevailed. After the meeting, in the hallway, he winked and said to me, “you should know better than to come up to the net behind nothing.”
Anne and I had a Health food store a number of years ago. It was in a new shopping development, and we actually signed the lease off the plans before it had been built. The owner explained what sort of shops would be where, it was a horseshoe shape, and how in the middle would be this octagonal building with the downstairs section a food court open all day, right opposite the shop we picked. It all sounded great, lots and lots of passing traffic - so we signed. But once everything was built, we found different tenants in different shops which meant hardly any foot traffic at all, and the downstairs of the octagonal building was a restaurant that only opened at night. Needless to say the business struggled and we got out of there.
When you rush into anything without adequate preparation or planning, you leave yourself vulnerable. In any important endeavour, you’ve got to do your homework, get your facts straight, sharpen your skills. In other words, don’t bluff and don’t guess – because if you do, nine times out of ten, life will drill a backhand right past you.
(3(3) When the ball is over, take off your dancing shoes.
I don’t know how many of you have had the incredible spiritual experience of being at a large gathering of Christian people. Like the annual Hillsong conference for instance. Or like last night’s Youth Alive. Or you’ve been to a spiritual retreat, or a special worship service of some magnitude. Or a wonderful concert. A mountain top experience.
Some young people from a rural town had this great experience at a city Christian youth rally, but came back feeling that church was boring and the music was boring and the people were boring and the mission was boring and that all the exciting things happened in the city. No one wanted to go to school on the Monday, no one wanted to go to work. They wanted to be back up on the mountain.
But no-one lives on the top of the mountain. It’s fine to go there occasionally – for inspiration, for new perspectives. But you have to come down. Life is lived in the valleys. That’s where the farms and gardens and orchards are, and where the plowing and the work are done. That’s where you apply the visions you may have glimpsed from the peaks.
It’s a steadying thought when the time comes, as it always does, to exchange your dancing shoes for some work boots.
(4(4) Shine up your neighbour’s halo
I like this one for its implication that everyone, in some area of life, has a halo that’s worth watching for and acknowledging.
We had a guy at Echuca corps who was a bit of a character. A lot of a character actually. Mental illness, poor social skills, poor hygiene. He used to make up some incredible stories, like that he owned all the racehorses in New Zealand, but also tell stories that were obviously his life experience but his warped view of it. He’d call out during the meetings – he’d always pray every time we asked for prayer, some sort of gobbledy gook, he’d always stand up during testimony time and reel off a crazy story. A man you could quite easily write off as a pest.
But I came to really enjoy his company. He made me laugh. He’d tell me a story, and I’d laugh at it and he’d laugh too. He was always the first to greet the newcomers – not always a good thing. But he was also the first one to say sorry if he had any inkling at all that he’d upset or annoyed or offended someone. And he was the most regular giver that we had. His envelope went in the offering bag every week without fail. Often he’d put it in as soon as he walked in the door in case he forgot. Without a real true understanding of salvation, I think he was one of the most Christian guys in the place.
So I used to shine his halo up a bit.
Shine up your neighbour’s halo. I like it for the celestial picture it conjures up – everybody industriously polishing away at everybody else’s little circle of divine light. I like it for the way that it shifts the emphasis from self interest to concern for others. And it reflects a deeper psychological truth – people have a tendency to become what you expect them to be.
(5(5) Keep one eye on the law of the boomerang
An old boss of mine had this saying – the law of the boomerang. If you cheated someone, someone would cheat on you. If you ripped someone off, someone would inevitably rip you off. Yet if you were kind to someone, that kindness usually got repaid without even seeking recompense. The law of the boomerang. What goes around comes around.
Is there really such a thing? Is the universe actually arranged so that whatever you send out – honesty or dishonesty, kindness or cruelty – ultimately comes back to you? It’s hard to be sure. One religion calls it karma. Since the beginning of time we have sort of felt that in the long run a man reaps what he sows. Even the Bible mentions it. We all know that in this misty area there are no final answers. Still, I think we should keep an eye on the law of the boomerang.
(6(6) Don’t wear your raincoat in the shower
Around the back of Rosebud there are some beautiful tracts of bushland with walking paths through them. When the kids were younger, and we were living down that way, I used to take them for little bushwalks. My thinking was – the landscape and the scenery is beautiful, there are birds and wildlife everywhere, they’ll really appreciate it. Well of course, they couldn’t have cared less. They noisily bashed along with loud voices asking when are we gonna see a kangaroo or something? I’d get fed up, exasperated, and say things like “Be quiet. Walk slowly and quietly. Appreciate the landscape. Creation is all around you. But you’re not noticing anything, you’re keeping it out. Stop wearing your raincoat in the shower.”
A ludicrous image, really, standing in the shower wearing your raincoat. But we do it all the time, and miss exposing ourselves to new experiences. It’s routine that dulls the eye and deadens the ear; novelty sharpens both. So if you want a heightened sense of fun, of excitement, of expectancy in your life, don’t be a buttoned-up person. Get rid of that raincoat and let creation in.
A wise man once said that tragedy is not what we suffer, but what we miss. Be open to the excitement of new things and new people and new experiences and the wonders God has placed all around us.
So there, some wisdom shared.
We’ve all learnt something along the journey worth sharing. And the more we ask God for His Spirit of wisdom, the more we’ll have to share. The more we engage in the art of reflection, the more wise God will help us become.
And a wise person is someone we all want to share time with, and ask questions of and seek guidance from. A wise person is a person of influence. May we each be recipients and dispensers of God’s wisdom. May we each be people of Godly influence.
Last Modified on 15/09/2011 10:01