Discern the Times

          It seems that our culture as a whole relies heavily on figure heads, media, and pundits to explain and interpret the times we live in.  Wisdom and its children are not usually part of the popular conversation.  Maybe that's because wisdom stems from the grounding of a well-tested worldview, (of course due to the nature of this blog this well tested worldview I am referring to is the Way of Jesus).  Wisdom is rooted in something older than current popular knowledge.  It is the way to live in a relation to a person who is Jesus.  It is not an abstract idea of how to live life without Him.  Popular opinion seeks to analyze life through a grid that is given to it by the dutiful “dispensers of knowledge”: i.e. the media, academia, the political establishment etc.   It is “modern” in the sense that its worldview is as about as old as the modern world.  The roots aren’t as deep as the ancient wisdom of Jesus.  Modern knowledge will explain to you how the modern world works, but it cannot go beyond that.  It is a knowledge that is purely utilitarian.  It is used to maintain a system and worldview that is only a few centuries old.  It doesn’t ask probing questions of “why?”.  It cannot and will not satisfy the deep-seated thirst in us for the transcendent.   It is narrowly focused on the temporal here and now (which is always in flux) with no ultimate endgame.  It is not concerned with checking the moral and ethical dimensions of a system.  It only exists to keep the status quo working.  Knowledge in this sense is not prophetic, meaning it does not raise the voice of conscience.  Wisdom asks if the systems we put in place are in fact truly good.  It is not for efficiency’s’ sake, but for the sake of the good and right that transcends the temporal system.  This exercising of wisdom with The Spirit to perceive the nature of a thing; either good or evil is what we would call “discernment”.  

Pundits, media talking heads, and yes; politicians are all vying for something.  Often their motives for vying are cloaked and hidden.  Usually the thing vied for is temporal and at times short sighted.  Wisdom doesn't vie for anything really; wisdom is more of a navigator and course corrector.  It will always stand outside our culture’s interpretive grid and question the moral implications of it.  It sifts motives and calls out unrighteousness in a given situation. In contrast, the talking heads often say, "we need this thing for this sake."  Wisdom will ask "What is the value of said thing we are asking for?  Is it truly good to begin with?”  Wisdom tends to ask questions whereas knowledgeable establishment figures (at least in America) give one liners and pat answers to complex questions.  Usually these limited answers are very much like our limited options of political parties: A or B, Pepsi or Coke, Red or Blue.  It seems easier to control the world view narrative of a people if the answers are simple and the choices few.   We are pressed to ask where does the Way of Jesus differ in both the questions and the answers from what the ideologues (either A or B) are giving?  It is crucial for Jesus’ people to measure the message of the age against Jesus’ own words.  This involves listening to The Spirit and being immersed in the life of Scripture.  Of course there is push back when we actually do this.  Wisdom and discernment may seem cynical and suspicious at times in regard to popular knowledge.  It is probably because in them contain a realistic view of the human situation.  Wisdom can see beyond the façade we put up.  It cuts to the heart of the matter with precision by its experience with human nature.  

The Wisdom in Hope

Even though wisdom has an honest view of the human heart and sees the implicit and latent evil inside, it is not without hope.  It is not hope in being “hopeful” or hope in the supposed utopia humans can construct if they only try harder.  It is a hope in the eventuality of God's Kingdom.  Hope that regardless of what is currently happening, this Kingdom will prevail.  It anchors itself in a Kingdom that exists in a tension between being here now, yet not here completely.  It is a hope that a little bit of righteousness presently outdoes great evil (it is a hope that is not passive but actively does good).   Yet it also trusts in a King returning to completely level off evil forever.  This hope outlasts the hype, temporality, and fickleness of our age.  It is a hope stronger than mountains and older than the sun.  It is a hope in the righteousness and justice of God to sort out the human predicament.  Without this hope the only options are the hopelessness of no absolute justice, or it is in the naive faith of eventual human perfection and the resulting utopia some dream will come from it.  The third option is the one we've been discussing, the wisdom of hope in the Kingdom of God.  “Hope” in scripture is not the same as wishful thinking.  Hope in the biblical sense is a sure trust in the God who reveals Himself to us and asks us to have confidence in His way.  His way has a consummation of the human story into one of triumph over evil and injustice from the ashes of our broken kingdoms.  This triumph comes not by humanities inherit goodness or power over chaos.  It comes from a King who defeats chaos and evil by the establishment of His Kingdom.  This Kingdom is not made from human hands, so modern theocracies made by people (well-meaning or not) are futile.  It is a mountain coming out of heaven overtaking the Kingdoms of this world in all of their corruption.  It isn't a utopia made by the secular "enlightened", it is made by the true King who is to come. 

Wisdom waits for promises to be kept, even if they take a long time.  We desperately need this wisdom.  The election of 2020 has shown the church what it trusts.  If we trust in a theocracy of our own making, we will be sorely disappointed.  We cannot overestimate our tendency to overlook our ability to fall into corruption.  The knowledge of this tendency should force us to reassess how we see The Kingdom of God.  It will always (until the King’s return) exist in a tension between promise and fulfilment.  We must do good and see The Gospel come out from us, but we cannot force the Kingdom on others by the same means the age forces itself on us.  We see true change when hearts change by the message of reconciliation we carry.  The Gospel is not American and never will be, it will always be the message of The Kingdom that is here but also coming.  We are ambassadors of this Kingdom, but we need real and authentic ways to communicate it.  Wisdom and discernment can help us navigate these waters, but we must ask the right questions.  How do we communicate the authentic Gospel in the power and love of The Spirit?  What do we really believe about ourselves as Christ’s ambassadors and the ultimate outcome of creation? (where does our hope lie?)  And probably the most unnerving question for those who like easy answers: what if the answer comes from not knowing the answer?  Would it be more Christian to not know, yet in trust we step out with The Spirit and operate in an active hope that isn't just rhetoric but actually does righteousness and justice?  Could we do those things apart from the narrative of our culture that uses Coke and Pepsi glass bottle lenses to color the meaning of these words?  Can we do righteousness and justice rooted in our ancient biblical worldview that is timeless and still relevantly dynamic?  Can we proclaim this gospel message and live a life in the power of the world to come?  The answers to these questions seem impossible to conceptualize in our limited understanding.  We must discern The Spirit’s movements.  This seems to be where the answer exists: it is in the tension between "A and B".  It can only be done working with Jesus, the Holy one that scripture talks about.