A WORD FOR TODAY, June 9, 2024
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, June 9, 2024
“I have also seen wisdom under the sun in this way, and it seemed great to me. There was a little city, and few men within it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. Now a poor wise man was found in it, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then I said, ‘Wisdom is better than strength.’ Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.” Ecclesiastes 9:13-16, WEB
I was watching a show about gold mining and the star, Parker, was visiting an ancient man who got very lucky (with hard work) during a gold rush in Brazil. In the early 1980’s a hundred thousand people went to Sierra Pelada to mine for gold. The prospectors found at least forty-five tons, although some estimates claim it was more like three hundred and sixty tons. The man on the show was so rich that he owned a private plan and partied all over the world. He has since run out of money, but with a legal claim (the site was shut down because it caused so much environmental damage.) Only a few are still allowed to mine in the area.
Parker was willing to invest in the guy, to help him get started again. He was sure that he was just feet away from a streak that would set him back in business. Parker paid for some heavy equipment, and they dug a hole. They did not find gold. The prospector said that they’d just have to dig a little further. Parker equated his attitude to someone whose success went to his head, continuing to insist that the next day would prove their confidence.
I once met a young man who told me that he did well at poker. He wanted to go to Vegas to prove his confidence. He played online often and said that he made some stunning moves in play. I warned him about the dangers of gambling, that you win just enough to make you think you are a brilliant player but then your luck runs out and you begin to lose. The temptation is to keep going anyway, thinking that your brilliance will overcome your bad luck and you will win again like you did in the beginning. Too many people have gotten caught up in this vicious circle and they have suffered for it.
It is so easy for us to experience and succeed at something once and think that it means we have a gift, this is not only true of earthly experiences, but also spiritual. I once knew a girl who had an incredible experience with the Holy Spirit during which she gave a powerful prophetic word. She was immediately convinced that she was a prophet and that everything she said should be accepted as God-given. She wrote sermons, corrected and rebuked others. Unfortunately, her later “words” were filled with error. They did not line up to the scriptures and were even at times dangerous to the spiritual health of those who followed her teachings. She respected my own ministry and listened to what I had to say.
The self-proclaimed prophet came back to me several times for advice. She shared some of her writing, asking for me to share the wisdom I’d accumulated in my Christian journey. However, she wasn’t looking for correction. She knew what she knew and rejected what I had to say when I pointed out her error. She wanted me to tell her she was truly a brilliant prophet. She rejected everything I said when I did not do so. Wisdom is quickly forgotten.
Parker might have given the old prospector some good advice, but he can’t predict what will happen in the future. I couldn’t foresee what will happen either to the young man with his gambling or the young lady with her ministry. I could only share a bit of my experience and knowledge and hope that they would make the right decisions when the time came. The irony of my relationship with the young ‘prophet’ was that she pursued our relationship because she thought I was one too. When I didn’t say what she wanted to hear, she told me I wasn’t a prophet, an office I never claimed for myself.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the prospector will follow Parker’s advice and I doubt that the young man took my thoughts to the table with him. My experience with gambling has always been penny ante, trivial when compared to the numbers he’d been dealing with online. The young girl stopped listening when she stopped thinking of me as a prophet because I became like a poor man whose wisdom was not worth remembering. The scriptures are given that we might remember that the wise words we may see are fleeting, which is why we are to rely solely upon God, for His wisdom is eternal.
We can easily be tempted to hope in all the wrongs things. Hope is the next gold rush, gambling success, and even a prophetic word is like wishes and dreams. It isn’t dependable. It disappoints because nothing early is dependable. However, true hope is in God because His Word is true. His promises are dependable. He is the one with wisdom to which we must listen so that we’ll go forth knowing success in the things that truly matter, sharing the Gospel with our neighbors so that they’ll seek God’s victory that is eternal.
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