Wisdom's view of Beauty

Proverbs 5:18-19 ESV

Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth,  a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.

Proverbs 11:22 ESV

Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.

Proverbs 31:30 ESV

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Wisdom recognizes true beauty

Good created things to be beautiful. He not only creates for form and function, but also aesthetically. Appreciation for beauty is found in the word of God. Proverbs and song of Solomon has some examples.

Wisdom recognizes the dangers of beauty

Charm is deceitful. This means that physical beauty can deceive us into making foolish decisions and judgment. Physical beauty can captivate us into adultery or other sins. Don't overlook serious character flaws because of how attractive someone looks.

Physical beauty is vanity. It means that beauty is fleeting. We are getting older and getting less physically attractive over time.

Not only that, but the worldly trends of beauty change. From culture to culture, decade to decade, even year to year... The definition of beauty changes.

We believe that being beautiful and attractive will bring us success and fulfillment. That if we looked better, we would be happier. But we cannot achieve our goal of being beautiful enough. The goalposts are always moving and changing.

Wisdom seeks she finds true beauty

Outside beauty is deceiving and fleeting. But inner beauty, character, is true beauty. This is what should be sought out and pursued.

1 Peter 3:3-4 ESV

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

We are not saying that beauty is bad. We should appreciate it. But that which matters more is inner beauty, character and godliness. Grow your inner beauty. This is where our emphasis should be. It will not fade, but grow over time.

Jesus is the personification of this beauty. He did not come as a handsome man, but an average looking Joe. His worth was in His character.

Isaiah 53:2 ESV

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

The wisdom of self control

Proverbs 25:28 ESV

A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.

Titus 2:11-12 ESV

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

Rev. Dwight Yoo

A life without self control is like a city without walls.

Centrality of self-control

A city with no walls is defenseless. It was open to attack by wild animals, bandits, and other problems. Lack of self control leads to all sorts of problems. The inability to hold back impulses can destroy your life. Holding a job requires self control. We don't always feel like doing work. But if we only worked when we felt like it, work would never get done well or in a timely manner. But this is not only for our jobs, but our relationships, our prayer life, our families, and other parts of our lives.

Challenge of self-control

Self control is not only vital, but incredibly difficult. We should look up to those whose lives are marked by self control.

Today's culture says that restraints and boundaries are bad. Self control is seen as repression. Society says that we should do as we feel.

Our desires are wrong. We want the wrong things. Or we want good things too much. Overeating, laziness, and others like it are excesses of those good things we want. We look to fill our spiritual desires with other things. We try to fill our spiritual thirst with other things, but we are unsatisfied. We keep clamoring for more. We end up in prisons of our own making. Unrestrained desires will ruin our lives.

Cultivating self-control

Actively managing our lives and desires leads to bountiful results. But we cannot reach self control by sheer effort. How so? Consider this, if an overweight man decides to lose weight. They pursue losing weight and finally become fit. At the end they may end up fearful of regaining weight. They are enslaved to working out, eating right, and healthy habits. They may gain workout partners, but they may lose old friends. They can't enjoy food anymore.

So how then do we cultivate it?

Cry out to God for self-control.

Set boundaries in our life with community support and accountability.

Find contentment at the feet of Christ

Pride goes before destruction

Proverbs 11:2 ESV

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

Proverbs 15:25, 33 ESV

The Lord tears down the house of the proud but maintains the widow’s boundaries.   The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 18:12 ESV

Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 23:17-18 ESV

Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.  Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Proverbs 27:1-2 ESV

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.  Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.

Rev. Dan Whang

We live in a world that gets us to showcase and glorify ourselves. This world encourages pride. A working definition of pride is elevating ourselves above others, even above God.

Expressions of pride

Competitive Spirit (unhealthy kind)

People don't generally see themselves as proud. But often people want to be richer, smarter, etc. We measure ourselves against others. So what is so wrong about this competitive spirit? We treat people different based on whether they are smarter, richer, etc.

Boasting

We feel slighted when we don't get proper credit. We want to talk about our accomplishments.

Insecure self-absorption

When people try to give you advice or feedback, we take it personally. It is about our self worth. We can't stand it when other people are having fun and making so much noise. We hate all these posts on Facebook because they are doing so well.

Spiritual pride

Some of us do spiritual things for the approval of others. We act humble for public eyes.

Envy

We resent others because we want what they have. We sulk when they succeed and rejoice when others fall. If we admit envy, it means we are small and petty.

If you think you don't suffer from this, consider those you are critical towards. Why are you always looking for fault in them? This is likely envy... A symptom of pride in your heart.

Dangers of pride

Pride leads to destruction

Destruction doesn't sometimes follow pride. It always follows pride. From the titanic to the tower of Babel, God always destroys the proud. It is almost like a promise.

The proud can never learn

The proud become hardened in their ways. They stop learning because they are always in the right. Even their opinions are right! Eventually, they will not seek the wisdom from God.

God stands opposed to the proud

He will tear down the house of the proud. He calls them to repent and draw close to God. The proud set themselves in enmity towards God.

How to cultivate humility

Remember Jesus is the humble king and keep your gaze on Him

Jesus was never competitive or proud. Instead He came to serve and die for his enemies. This is how we grow humility. We focus on Jesus and become stunned by the grace of God. The vision of Jesus on the cross dying for our sins will humble us.

Remember that Jesus draws near to the humble and honors them

Humility is not hating yourself. It is not low self esteem. It is to stop focusing on ourselves. We are to lose sight of ourselves in the glory of God.

Application

Make your greatest boast in the Lord Jesus Christ and his crucifixion.

Growing in wisdom

Proverbs 4:10-27 ESV

Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.  I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.  When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.   Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.   Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.  Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.  For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.  For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.  But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.   The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.   My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.   Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.  For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.  Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.  Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.   Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.   Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.   Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Wisdom is about handling things well on a day to day basis. This doesn't seem like a big deal for the small day to day decisions. But life has a cumulative effect, a slow gradual change. So how do we go about this? We ask God. Pray. But wisdom isn't something you see growing in your life. So what then? Is the bible wrong? No, wisdom is not a door, it's a path, a journey, a way. It is a rigorous pursuit that requires active pursuit.

Proverbs 1:32 ESV

For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them;

Five requirements to gain wisdom

1 Actively embed God's word in your mind

Proverbs 4:10, 13 ESV

Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many...  Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

The word of God does not cover the everyday intricacies of life. But it does give broad strokes, it gives us a framework to start. This general set of guides help us to build a more wise way of living.

2 Listen to the word

Proverbs 4:20 ESV

My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.

We need to recognize that we are not all knowing. We should listen to the word for guidance. One of the ways that we can see our need for wisdom is a Johari window. It shows us that we don't know everything about ourselves... We all have blindspots.

But we must be careful. We must follow those who are chasing wisdom.

3 Look at your life with three types of sight: insight, foresight, and hindsight

We need to focus and concentrate on our lives. Look for deeper understanding in the situations around us.

Consider what is off in the future. Consider the consequences before doing something. What we do today will impact the future.

Look at our past and learn from our mistakes. We all make mistakes, but the wise learn from them.

Proverbs 26:11 ESV

Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.

4 Feet that follow even when following looks foolish

The path of wisdom can sometimes take us to places that look foolish. Painful and hard times will still come our way. This pain is not punishment; it is for us to learn and grow. It can reveal our hidden sin and issues. God does these things for our good.

5 A heart that is centered

What we desire most will determine what we will chase. It will determine what we use our insight, foresight, and feet for. If this is missing, none of the other four will matter. The wisdom that we learn is not solely for our benefit. It is for the glory of God. That is the driving desire for the Christian to seek out wisdom in our lives.

Get wisdom

Proverbs 3:13-18 ESV

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,   for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.  She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.   Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.  She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.

Proverbs 4:1-9 ESV

Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,  for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.  When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,  he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.   Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.  Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.   The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.  Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.  She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

Rev. Charles Han

The book of Proverbs is a contrast between wisdom and foolishness. Wisdom leads to life, honor, and riches. Foolishness leads to death, shame, and pain.

Wisdom's more precious than any gems, investment, real estate, or worldly wealth. We are to appraise it as of great worth. The Proverbs speak of how to get wisdom... We are to get wisdom.

How do we get it? Firstly, we must understand what wisdom is. It is not just deep thoughts. It is not just smarts. It is knowledge, expertise, and competence applied to everyday life. The law of the prophets is clear on the broad strokes of life, but not the everyday decisions of life. We are clear on loving our neighbor, but not how or when. A well intentioned action that is ill timed can backfire. That is why we need wisdom. A well lived Christian life should look like the woman in Proverbs 31. Her life should show resiliency, mercy, consistency, etc. That is what our lives should reflect. We should be able to handle the A-Z's of life well.

What do we aspire to? Pleasure? Comfort? Wealth? Power? Beauty? Do we seek out wisdom? Do we teach our children to chase after wisdom as the Proverbs exhort us?

Where does seeking wisdom begin? First, acknowledge our foolishness. We are called not to lean on our own understanding, but the Lord. Often this is applied to the far off future. But we need to see this in the day to day. Take a step back from our own wisdom. Seek after God's wisdom. We are to fear God. It is not a servantile fear; it is a child-like reverential respectful fear. In following Jesus, we trade our wisdom for God's foolishness. But God's foolishness is greater than man's wisdom. Consider this. Jesus is a workman who comes into our home. He first does small repairs. But then he starts tearing out parts of the house... It makes no sense. But we expected to have a nice small cottage... Jesus wants to make a palace
Such is our lives in His hands.

Do not disbelieve but believe

John 20:19-31 ESV

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”  When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”  And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”  Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”  Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”  Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”   Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Rev. Dan Whang

If doubt is something that you deal with, this passage is for you. This situation is the most blatant display of doubt. Thomas' doubt is the climax of the gospel of John. It is the reason for his book.

The Christians were living in fear. Jesus appeared to be dead. They were afraid of the Jews. And they had locked themselves away. And somehow, Jesus teleports among them. He appears to many of the disciples. They go to Thomas and he says he would not believe unless he saw Jesus with his own eyes and felt His wounds.

Doubt demands conditions and treats the truth with contempt.

Thomas demands to see and touch. The other disciples had seen Jesus, but Thomas wants to touch the wounds. He places demands above that of the other disciples. They saw; he demands to touch. Faith calls us to believe even without being able to see or touch.

There is a difference between a stubborn unbeliever and a honest doubter. An honest doubter seeks truth and looks for it, but once they find it. They rejoice. The stubborn heart of unbelief does not believe and takes joy in being skeptical.

Jesus erases Thomas' doubts by showing him His wounds.

Jesus shows up again and presents how wounds to Thomas. Not only that, but Jesus repeats Thomas' doubts word for word. Jesus knew Thomas' doubts and did not hold a grudge against him. Jesus is gracious, merciful, and patient even in the face of Thomas' audacious demands for proof. Jesus did not only give evidence, he still called Thomas to believe. The evidence demands a decision, a verdict. To have faith or not.

Thomas' renewed belief was expressed by a propositional and personal confession.

It is not clear whether Thomas actually placed his hand in Jesus' side. But he sees Jesus and confesses: Jesus is Lord and God. He is my Lord. Jesus is not only the almighty God of the universe. He is my personal God. It is not just personal experience, it is also backed by the bible.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

Jesus says this to Thomas. His disciples see him. That is required for them to be apostles. They were personal eyewitnesses to Jesus' life and resurrection. John writes this book towards the end of his life. They were written for us to read and believe, without seeing Jesus with our own eyes.

Application: Prayers to battle doubt

Deuteronomy 11:18-21 ESV

“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.

Jesus, hide these written words in my heart

Jesus, direct my heart into your love and steadfastness

Jesus, help my unbelief

The Resurrection

John 20:1-18 ESV

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.  But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”  Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

Rev Dwight Yoo

Reliability

John writes as an eyewitness to the resurrection. This is no metaphor. He writes this as historical fact. Most people will choose not to believe because science says that people do not resurrect. But how about people during Jesus' times? Jews believed that people would be resurrected at the end of time. The Greeks believed that the body was bad. They thought that upon death, the spirit left the body. Bodily resurrection made no sense. No one expected Jesus to come back. The disciples were confused as to what happened. Mary thought that his body had been stolen by grave robbers. And then his disciples saw the resurrected Jesus.

No one here has seen the resurrected Jesus. All we have is eyewitness accounts. The women were the first to say they saw a resurrected Jesus. Women of those times were not seen as credible. Their testimony was not admissible in court. If one were to make up a story, no one would choose them as the first witnesses. If the body was stolen, why were the burial clothes still there? And if it was stolen, why did the body not reappear with all the attempts to discredit Jesus' and his followers? Grave robbers would have made lots of money to produce the body... And not just that, but hundreds saw Jesus. A single person may be hallucinating, but group hallucinations? Not only that, but many went to grisly deaths, still testifying to a resurrected Christ.

Result

The resurrection of Jesus announced the death of death. Death is no more. All of us face death. It is the great equalizer. It does not matter whether you are rich, poor, educated, smart, or foolish. We all must face death. But the resurrection promises more than death. For those who believe in him, we are promised resurrection. In his resurrection, creation is being renewed. It is being made new. Everything will be similar to how it is now... But gloriously better. Not only that, but all the suffering in this life will bring us joy in heaven. We are not saved from suffering. But though suffering, we will find joy.

Response

Many people believe in the historical Jesus. But the resurrection requires more. The resurrection says that Jesus is God. He is more than a simple moral teacher or good person. If he is God, he can rightly call us to submit our entire lives to him. How do we know that God is trustworthy? Before God asked you to lay down his life for Him, Jesus laid down his life for you.

Jesus meets Mary.. And then sent her to announce his resurrection to the others. He sent her to proclaim the risen Christ. That is the same call we have today. May this Easter be more than a celebration, but also a proclamation: Jesus lives!