Wisdom of Life
Timothy Tin
Ever since its outbreak, Coronavirus has traveled around the world for half a year. Over 18 million people have been infected and 700,000 died! While the second and even third waves have started, this pandemic hits the hardest in the USA which has been ridiculed by foreign public media. Dr. Joseph Varon from Houston’s United Memorial Medical Center told the media, “We have been fighting two battles: one is COVID-19 and the other one is stupidity. As we are discovering a glimpse of hope for COVID-19, the battle against stupidity gets tougher and tougher!” He alone has to take care of 40 patients every day. He added, “When we are trying to save lives daily, another group of people are doing the opposite. (https://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article244636567.html)
The battle against stupidity is that many people were against wearing masks for the sake of freedom and wisdom. They gathered for wild parties without masks. Some even killed people who were wearing masks. Some criminals took the opportunity to commit crimes against innocent people. Yet both Coronavirus and stupidity are “invisible killers”. We need true wisdom for rescue!
Who is truly wise? The doctors who advise people to wear masks or those who oppose wearing masks? According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, the word ‘wisdom’ may have 4 different meanings:
- Knowledge: accumulated philosophical or scientific learning
- Discernment: ability to discern inner qualities and relationships
- Judgement : making the best judgement
- Attitude
As we are being bombarded by massive information from different websites, we need discernment and judgement to filter what is real or unreal. In terms of wisdom, nobody can compare with King Solomon in the Bible: “Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else … And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.” (1 King 4:30-31)
Two prostitutes brought a case before King Solomon in the Bible…
One of them said, “Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me. The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us. “During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.” ( 1 Kings 3:17-21, 26, 27)
When King Solomon said that he would cut the baby in two parts to split among the two mothers …
… “The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!” Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”
Based on his wisdom, King Solomon was able to discern and judge who the true mother of the new born baby was simply by her willingness to give up her child for saving his life! The wicked woman who agreed to cut the child in halves when she couldn’t have the child all by herself was not the true mother!
Where did his wisdom come from? The Bible said: “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.” (1 Kings 4:29)
God’s wisdom was not only exemplified in the life of King Solomon but also in the death of Jesus Christ. On one hand, some people would laugh at King Solomon’s suggestion about cutting the baby in halves just like the way they see the death of Jesus as an example of stupidity. On the other hand, to those who seek goodness and truth and wisdom, God’s saving love is surely awakening.
“The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.” (Matthew 12:42) Jesus’ wisdom certainly exceeds Solomon’s.
These diligent doctors have been working days and nights to save lives. How can we consider their hard work as acts of stupidity? Why do we fight against these doctors by spreading the viruses?
By the same token, let’s all seek the true wisdom of God by knowing Jesus as our personal savior to overcome the “invisible virus”!
(Author: Christian Alliance Bible Church in Los Angeles, CA)
Source: 1. Macias, T. (n.d.). ‘COVID Hunter’ doctor says he’s fighting 2 battles in Texas:
Coronavirus and stupidity. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from https://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article244636567.html
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