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What is wisdom? Area United Church clergy recently received this email.

In August, the District of Columbia suddenly announced that on September 19 it will be closing the Gales School, which is currently being used as an overnight shelter for homeless men and women. This 150 bed shelter houses mostly difficult to serve individuals who are either unwilling or unable to find shelter elsewhere. At a time when there is already a shortage of shelter beds and just as the cold season begins to approach, closing Gales will likely result in 150 more people living on the streets, putting these lives at risk.

Is this wise?

The governor of Alabama, a born-again Christian, has been imploring the electorate for months to accept tax increases, so that he would not be forced to reduce programs for the poor and cut the jobs of thousands of teachers. Last week the citizens of Alabama voted "no," two to one, to any new taxes for their financially strapped state.

Was this wise?

Last Sunday, President Bush, asked for $87 billion dollars to fund the War on Terror and the rebuilding of Iraq. Even some of Mr. Bush’s liberal congressional critics acknowledge the present necessity of granting this request. But how did we get here?

E. J. Dionne wrote in the Washington Post last week:

With his postwar plans in tatters, Bush might at least have offered a wink or a nod to the fact that he did nothing to prepare Americans for the full cost of this enterprise…Let’s remember that the administration is on the record as predicting the opposite of the long struggle in Iraq that was the theme of Bush’s Sunday speech. (An administration spokesman had in March predicted) "a period of stabilization in Iraq, and the phased withdrawal of a large number of American forces within (a) six-month window."

Was it wisdom that got us to this place?

What is wisdom? Much of the teaching of the Bible can be called "wisdom" teaching, particularly that found in the Book of Proverbs, the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and in Jesus’ words, such as the Sermon on the Mount. Simply put, these teachings stress that wisdom is heeding God and that unwise actions have consequences. And God, though loving and gracious, cannot protect us from the consequences of unwise deeds. Jesus said that a man who is foolish and builds his house upon the sand, instead of a rock, will see that house ruinously destroyed by wind and rain and flood. And that disaster has nothing to do with whether he is a nice, decent, and well-meaning man or not. Actions have consequences. What goes around comes around. If you close a shelter and put homeless people on the street – there will be consequences. If you lose thousands of teachers – there will be consequences. If you misjudge the long-term impact of invading another country – consequences. Jesus said that a wise king will count the costs before going into battle. There are hard consequences if he doesn’t.

In the very first chapter of the Book of Proverbs, we are introduced to the idea of wisdom. But remarkably, wisdom is not presented as abstraction – laws, rules, teaching, or even advice. Instead the Bible personifies wisdom as a woman. And what a woman! This is a woman who cries out in the street and in the city squares. She is not some detached sage on a mountaintop, but a person who seeks out the busiest cross-roads of life in order to get through to people who are acting stupidly. "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?" "Because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,…I will mock you when panic strikes you, when panic strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you." Why will all this happen? Wisdom cries, "Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord." "Waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them."

Biblical wisdom is like a tough female prophet. The cry of wisdom is like the voice of your mother when she has had it, and is really, really upset. A prophetic maternal voice. Our God is a God is love. But sometimes God is a God of tough love. That is wisdom.

I wonder if we do not live in a time in which the voice of God’s tough love is speaking, if we care to listen. God is saying, "There are consequences to your actions – inescapable consequences." God is saying, "America, you can’t arrogantly go it alone in the world, get yourself into a jam, and then expect everybody else to pitch in to bail you out." God is saying, "You can’t try to pay for this project by cutting services to the poor, cutting taxes to the rich, and expect there to be no consequences." God is saying, "People of Alabama, you can’t, in your smugness and complacency, slash away at education for your children and help for your poor, and not think there will be consequences to the social fabric of your state." God is saying, "People of the D.C. region, you can’t close down shelters and then be surprised at crime, violence, and people dying from the cold."

Wisdom says, you can’t hide from consequences. In India, rising Hindu fundamentalism has more and more been targeting Indian Muslims for violence. The remarkable thing about Muslims in India is that since independence, there have been no home-grown terrorists. Muslims have found their place in a functioning democracy. But now, it appears the recent bombings in Bombay may have been the work of a new breed of middle-class Muslim terrorists. Consequences. What were those Hindus thinking when they tore down ancient mosques and burned Muslims alive in their homes?

So where does this leave us, if, in fact we are being roundly rebuked by this very angry mother of a God? How do we respond to such anger? To begin with, we should remember that anger, in and of itself, is not the answer. Anger from God, just as anger in our relationships, is always a kind of wake-up call. The sole purpose of anger is to get our attention. If we hear only the anger of a prophet, or an angry mother, we miss the point. For beneath the anger is much more. One may find many, many more feelings – hurt, disappointment, pain, and ultimately, compassion. Sometimes the tough love of a good chewing out is the most compassionate thing that can happen. We must trust in order to hear the love behind the anger.

I believe that beneath the tough love of God’s anger, God is saying, with compassion, that we have ceased to heed God’s Word, because we have ceased to trust God. We are afraid and so we trust in our own military might and behave waywardly. We nurture a complacency that puts the poor and needy at the bottom of our priorities. And that is, says God, not wise.

So how should people of faith respond to the prophetic voice, to wisdom’s cry? After Mother Wisdom’s long tirade in the scripture from Proverbs, she ends with these words: "but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster." Following the second anniversary of 9/11, aren’t we more aware than ever that we live in "dread of disaster?" But wisdom says, "Listen to me and trust." Do not fear. Trust. In a funny way fear and complacency go hand in hand. There is much fear and there is much complacency in America. (See the film "Bowling for Columbine" for evidence of that.) Trust and complacency are opposites. Complacency is a mixture of fear, foolishness, and helplessness. It was complacency as well as fear that led Adam and Eve to think they could hide from God in the Garden of Eden after they ate the forbidden fruit. Not possible. Trust is believing that all will be well because everything is in God’s hands. God’s Providence, though not always in evidence, is real and makes a long arc, as Martin Luther King once said.

"Those who listen to me will be secure." What is God saying? The first verse of Psalm 41 says simply, "Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them from trouble." God is saying that the only way to real happiness is to show compassion. "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me." "What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God."

We’ve all heard interviews with some of the U.S. soldiers in Iraq. I am repeatedly and deeply moved by the kindness and compassion expressed by so many of these troops. However they feel about their situation, their confusion about whether they are warriors or peacekeepers, their missing home, their uncertainty about the purpose this war, there is no doubt that many have a profound desire to connect with Iraqis, to help, and to heal. In a funny way I trust those soldiers far more than our national leadership. As Christians we are always called to recognize signs of hope. Even in darkest times, St. Paul said, "In all things, give thanks." Even in the most painful circumstances, God is present. Even when we are forced to face the consequences of unwise actions, God is present. And all will be well. Amen.
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