A Spirit of wisdom – Acts 6: 1-7

‘During the days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.  And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.’

What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.  They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.’

I am led to believe that the early church in Jerusalem was a commune, or something rather like one, with everything held in common.  A quarrel developed over the care of needy people.  After discussion, everyone agreed to give responsibility for this work to particular individuals.  Those chosen were to be ‘full of the Spirit and of wisdom’.  We tend to assume that the two go together, that if your life was filled with the Spirit, then wisdom came automatically.  If this were so, then why say ‘and of wisdom’ at all? Because it could have been just taken for granted.

Actually the two things – Spirit and wisdom – don’t always go together.  It seems to me that, on reflection, a lot of Christians have little wisdom in dealing with their fellow humans, or in resolving problems within their lives.  They have enthusiasm, yes, but not wisdom.

Now wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit, for he is the ‘Spirit of truth’.  The psalmist tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and adds ‘and they who love by it grow in understanding’.  But it takes time, effort and nurture, as does all growth, it demands that we give up our simple assumption that everything will come right if only we love one another.  There are some folk who would say “If you have the Spirit you can forget about the rest, he’ll guide you.”  Over the years my own experience suggests otherwise, because these are the people who live by crisis, staggering from one problem to the next, many of which could have been resolved, even avoided, by thoughtfulness and concern for others.

Wisdom, to me, has a lot to do with concern for others.  It’s about understanding, gauging human reactions, and planning so that stress is reduced as far as it can be, although it can’t be eliminated totally.  Taking decisions often produces stress and we have to live with it, and good management develops a strong and reasonably secure framework within which we can expand and develop our own ideas and concerns.

So what happens without it?  Chaos!  Conflicting demands, half-baked ideas, misunderstanding and extra stress.  People tend to kick against any constraints put on them by an organisation and they shout for their freedom.  Maybe sometimes they are right, but more often than not it seems to be the very organisation they protest against that gives them the freedom and support on which to build their lives.

It isn’t a denial of the Spirit’s guidance to think ahead and plan; it’s the use of our God-given gifts of mind and thought.

Prayer

 Lord, as I walk with you and I listen and learn, let your wisdom rub off onto me and your sensitivity to the needs of others.  Help me to learn that spirit and wisdom and love should go together, and that to combine them all takes effort, perception and understanding.

Amen.

Penny Bonham