“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” (Proverbs 13:20)
I have had this verse quoted to me SO MANY times over the years, but I never truly took it to heart until a couple of years ago. Oh, I tried to walk with wise men, but that was quickly thwarted by “brothers and sisters” in the church as well as those nearest me – mainly family members. I first heard it as a youth in Sunday School, but it was taught so far above my head at the time I didn’t understand the full impact of what it is saying. Whenever I would question to gain deeper understanding I was told to quit trying to figure everything out and just do it because the Bible said so. Well, the Bible said it, to be sure, but what exactly was it saying?
We are told that those who walk with wise men shall be wise. OK. So, do I go to a white-haired man sitting atop a mountain? Do I seek out college professors? Do I find a monk and live alongside him? Just where do I find such a wise man? I wasn’t really being a smart-aleck about this. After all, one man I particularly looked up to (by the way, the very one who taught me this verse) later on ran off with another woman, abandoning his family. He even quoted scripture to the pastor and elders who approached him to bring him back to the right! So much for that wise man. Stories circulated about members of the clergy and their extra-curricular activities with different women (men, children, etc). OK? Most of the “wise” men I met along the way (in college, for example) were intelligent – particularly in their chosen subject (i.e. Old Testament studies, finance, mathematics, science, etc.), but were not what anyone would consider wise. My own father was survival smart, having fought in WW2, but, again, nobody ever accused him of particular wisdom. So I was back to the basic question: where are these wise men with whom I was to walk?
Over the course of my lifetime I have encountered only a few men whom I would consider wise. They weren’t always found inside the church, but wisdom does begin with the fear of the Lord. They were not publicly lauded for their wisdom; instead, most of them were swept off to the side because they didn’t fit into the modern narrative of Christianity. Some of them were considered odd or “different”, out-of-touch, or just plain old. Any time I tried to form a long-term friendship with one of them, they would usually withdraw because I was young(-er than them) or because they feared I was trying to get something from them. They had been taken advantage of or mocked for so long they built walls around themselves. Either that or I would be pulled away from them by my “friends” and family because of one reason or another. In the meantime, I was walking with those who easily judged everybody, looked down upon others, considered themselves better than everyone else, gossiped, slandered, and brought dissension within the Body.
It wasn’t until I was well into my fifties I was able to finally extract myself from the religious crowd and begin seeing for the first time the truth. As I approached my sixties I decided it was time to stand on my own, associate with whom I chose to associate, and let the haters hate. I knew the price would be high, but I wasn’t totally prepared for HOW high! I tested the waters, so to speak, a couple of times just to get a feel for the repercussions that would follow my decision. Once I was somewhat willing to accept the attacks and accusations that would come, I finally stepped out of the crowd.
Sadly, however, by the time I made the decision to walk with the wise, most of those I sought had passed away from this life. I should have already had thirty or forty years of walking with those men of God; however, now all I have is a memory of their outward lives. I never got to spend time with them, learn from them, plunge the depths of their wisdom and insights into being a godly man. I can remember certain gems they would drop when allowed to speak up, but those gems hardly encompass the totality of what they had to share – if only they had someone with whom to pass it on. I have spent my life walking with and being a bread-fellow (the real meaning of companion – one who eats bread with another) of shallow, religion-indoctrinated simpletons – men who created divisions within the church, men who stiff-armed the older generation, men who were more concerned about keeping up with the latest trends in Christianity. They left footprints in my soul, but time has swept away their journey.
My challenge to you, dear reader, is to find those men and women who have lived close to God, those who have walked the valleys of the shadow of death with the Savior’s hand in theirs, brothers and sisters who sit alongside – no longer allowed to play church with the rest. Find those precious few who have battle scars and walk with a limp because they have wrestled with God and won. Seek them out, sit with them, get to know their stories, become famliar with the God they love, and learn from them. One day, if the Lord tarries, you will find yourself sitting outside the circle, unpopular, un-trendy, and “weird” but you will be a deep well of wisdom and guidance to those who come to you. Be willing to cut the moorings of your life’s ship, launch out into the deep, and learn the mind and ways of God. Know the God of heaven, not the god of Rome, Springfield MO, Indianapolis, Tulsa, or wherever else. In the meantime, spend time with those great ones listed in scripture. Read their stories, go back in time (in your mind), walk with them, listen to their words, feel their hearts, and become one with them. Walk with the wise and become wise.
Be blessed.
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