Devotion - Thursday, October 16

If it seems as if I have made reference to the Book of Job for weeks, it is because the book is long, and its verses so rich, that the folks who put together the two year lectionary included many selections from this book.  I assure you, we are coming to the end.  But the end has many verses worth remembering.

Today I read Job 28:1-28.  

The chapter starts by acknowledging how we mind for gold and silver and precious gems.  We have learned how to dig in the earth and uncover these valuable items.  "But where shall wisdom be found?" the verses ask.  It is not something that we can merely uncover by craft.  Nor can we obtain it in exchange for other riches; "It cannot be gotten for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price."

I would also like to point out the difference here between "knowledge" and "wisdom."  There is a difference, which I am sure you can discern.

The Book of Job encourages us to turn to God as the source of this wisdom.  (There are no directions for obtaining it - more for discovering that it is there.)  Wisdom may begin, the book suggests, when we acknowledge that it isn't something that we can grasp or obtain by deceit.  

Amid your pursuit of knowledge, create opportunities to reflect on wisdom.  As you amass greater and greater amounts of information, reflect upon the wisdom needed to use that knowledge appropriately.

Wisdom is a precious thing.  We can pursue it, but it finally comes as a gift.  In our faith tradition, we assert that it comes as a gift from God.  As with all gifts from God, it is then something we use to honor God and bring His creation closer to the promises of God.