What did you receive as last Christmas' best present ever? Did you get that one and only fancy coffee maker or the newest electronic gadget as your best present ever? Maybe this was your year to finally get your big screen television! Congratulations! As for me, what I received as my best present ever came in a different sort of package; it came in the form of a deep feeling of hope that one day God might grant us peace on earth. And I must say that after that feeling swept through me on Christmas morning, I remember asking myself, “How in this world might peace on earth happen?”
After some serious thought and another glass of eggnog, it occurred to me that rather than a feeling, peace on earth, humanity's eternal utopian fantasy, will come about only as the result of increased wisdom. While each of us can feel peaceful as we lazily rock back and forth resting in a hammock on a pleasant summer day, peace on earth begins only after committed people discover numerous, assorted ways to treat one another more wisely. Napping in a hammock takes no effort in the pursuit of achieving peace. Peace on earth, on the other hand, takes time — a lifetime for most of us — and much dedication, demanding sages-in-training to delve into vast chasms of temporal and cosmic libraries, worlds, and universes, where prudence jumps into life, declaring its identity through inspirational tales and awe-inspiring epics that powerfully instruct pilgrims about wisdom's meaning as well as how to implement it. That's the kind of intense effort needed to grasp wisdom's significance, not only bringing peace to one's soul, but, also, bringing peace to others — perhaps even bringing peace on earth.
We often find such powerful wisdom lessons in biblical narratives. Instead of scientifically detailing each and every facet of historical events in order to teach what proves wise in this situation or that (something we up-to-the-minute people strive to accomplish these days with our sophisticated technologies), biblical authors described events in history with emphasis on the presence of prudence in day to day situations or the lack of it. For example, when King David engaged in infidelity with Bathsheba, later murdering Uriah, her husband, the author of the book of 2 Samuel never intended to detail all of David's movements needed to seduce and acquire his lover. Whatever surveillance cameras recorded of David's escapade — that is, whatever palace guards observed — and any evidence of trace obtained by Jerusalem's Crime Scene Investigators (“CSI Jerusalem”) proving David and Bathsheba's liaison, never mattered to David's biblical chronicler. What mattered to 2 Samuel's author prompted an urge to paint bold, colorful scenes with broad strokes, depicting this careless king in the hope of instructing God's people about a lesson concerning how importunity triggers tragic aftermaths, such as an eternal curse upon one's family, including even the family of a powerful king. Not even royalty enjoys immunity from willful intransigence; and so, the author of 2 Samuel painted this portrait:
“Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.” Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.” (2 Samuel 12:9-11 English Standard Version)
With commanding imagery, this biblical author provided an unmistakable and long-lasting lesson about how lack of wisdom results in enduring misery, describing that by behaving unwisely, despising the word of the Lord (verse 9), and murdering the husband of the woman he took to himself, King David brought misfortune upon himself, his family, his future generations, and God's people. Quite a price to pay for imprudence and lack of discretion! In a word, this biblical tale about wisdom powerfully portrays how David's poor judgment left a legacy drenched with interminable peacelessness. Did we need surveillance videos to discover the disastrous consequences of injudiciousness? Must Crime Scene Investigators and their evidence be subpoenaed to teach how lack of wisdom causes intractable tribulation? No and no. To the contrary, artistic, erudite literary skill wrought this vivid wisdom lesson (minus many details and facts) as a gift that keeps on giving insight generation after generation. What a marvelous gift, indeed — my best gift ever.
So, what did you receive as last Christmas' best present? Whatever it was, I hope you enjoy it every bit as much as the gift I received — a great hope that through powerful wisdom lessons peace on earth might one day be ours.
Pastor Tom recently came from Christ United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City, Utah to Cortez, where he pastors First United Methodist Church. He's a graduate of Eden Theological Seminary and Johns Hopkins University.