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The question of how to live a good life is at the heart of the Book of Proverbs, a collection of short, pithy sayings. The book begins with words about wisdom and knowledge, and the eighth chapter describes wisdom as a woman, a female figure who takes her stand in the middle of human society and cries out, “To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live” (Prov 8:4). In this chapter, Wisdom offers her insights to everyone who is willing to listen, and she promises wonderful gifts to anyone who will embrace her — gifts of intelligence, truth, instruction, knowledge, justice, righteousness and wealth (Prov 8:5-21).
Wisdom doesn’t give her gifts only to undergrads at Harvard, or techno-geeks at Microsoft, or think-tankers in the Nation’s Capital. Her cry “is to all that live” (Prov 8:4). Wisdom is generous to all who are willing to open their hearts and minds to what she offers, and today she pours her gifts into the auto mechanic who analyzes car problems with uncommon intelligence; the grandmother who knows the truth about what makes people tick; the elementary school teacher who can both instruct and inspire her students; the counselor who shows real knowledge about the workings of human relationships; the attorney who has a passion for justice; the high-school student who resists peer pressure; and the entrepreneur who finds that she or he can do well by doing good.
Wisdom will speak only “noble things,” and all the words of her mouth “are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them” (Prov 8:6-8). Her gifts are “better than jewels,” she says, “and all that you may desire cannot compare with her” (Prov 8:11). When we look at ourselves, and at people around us, we realize that wisdom is reserved not only for people with the most distinguished diplomas and powerful professions — in fact, the nightly news reveals that there is plenty of folly and foolishness at the highest levels of academics, business and politics. True insight is available to all people everywhere who are willing to open their hearts and their minds to the wisdom of God. “I love those who love me,” says Wisdom, “and those who seek me diligently find me” (Prov 8:17).
Such people are smart bricks in the “spiritual house” that God is building in the world (1 Pet 2:5). They are “living stones,” building blocks that are “chosen and precious in God’s sight” (1 Pet 2:4). They are like the smart bricks that actually exist in the world of modern high-tech construction, building materials that can serve as a very good metaphor for the people of God. Invented by Professor Chang Liu at the University of Illinois, the smart brick is filled with electronic sensors that can continuously monitor the structural health of a building. Such a smart brick can be a real asset in terms of routine maintenance and safety in emergencies, because it allows engineers and emergency personnel to acquire real-time information on a building’s structural integrity.
Smart bricks are a good image for us to keep in mind as we ponder our role as people of God in the world today. Smart bricks understand how the world is put together, because they are in touch with Wisdom, who stood beside God “like a master worker” in the original ordering of creation (Prov 8:30). She was created by the LORD at the beginning of God’s work, “at the first, before the beginning of the earth” (Prov 8:22-23). Here, Wisdom is an agent of God the Creator, says Old Testament professor Walter Brueggemann, ordering creation in such a way that it is “permitted to function in abundant, life-giving ways.” Smart bricks are committed to building up, not breaking down. They are constructive, not destructive. They stand together and work together, instead of splitting apart and shattering the efforts of others. They join the wisdom of God in rejoicing in God’s “inhabited world and delighting in the human race” (Prov 8:31).
Many people see a connection between Divine Wisdom and Jesus, the one who is the Word of God in human form. Wisdom was present at the beginning of God’s work, and “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Wisdom was a master worker, and in similar manner “all things came into being through [the Word]” (John 1:2). Wisdom delighted in the human race, and “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16). Although Divine Wisdom and Jesus the Word are not identical, they share the mission of helping the human race.
Each of us, in our own ways, can follow the example of Wisdom and Jesus in building up instead of breaking down. We can be constructive, not destructive. We can stand together and work together, instead of splitting apart and shattering each other’s efforts. This passage is one of the Bible’s greatest hits because it tells us that Divine Wisdom shares her life-giving gifts with us — gifts of intelligence, truth, instruction, knowledge, justice, and righteousness. With the Wisdom of God inside us, we can build a better world. One brick at a time.
Questions:
1. Where do you see examples of Divine Wisdom in the people around you?
2. What does it mean to you to be a “smart brick” in God’s spiritual house?
3. How do you try to follow the example of Divine Wisdom and Jesus?
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