Choose Wisdom for the Journey

Dennis Miller is a funny comedian. However, being funny isn’t the best attribute for anyone in this life. A successful journey means there is a destination that is worth seeing and that the trip itself is designed to get you there. When Dennis says, “I’d rather be funny than wise.”, I hope he is really just joking. Wisdom is needed for every journey and every type of journey.

How Many Journeys Are You On?

We tend to think of journeys as something we do in a cab, a bus, a train, a ship, or an airplane. Dennis says these journey can be fearful. “My fear of flying starts as soon as I buckle myself in and then the guy up front mumbles a few unintelligible words then before I know it I’m thrust into the back of my seat by acceleration that seems way to fast and the rest of the trip is an endless nightmare of turbulence, of near misses. And then the cabbie drops me off at the airport.” Dennis Miller

I have been a cab rides like that. But those trips were just a small part of the total journey of life.

We are all on multiple journeys that cause us to reach a single destination. Depending on your theology (or lack thereof) you are either on a journey towards death or on a journey to some eternal existence. These journeys include things like schooling, work, marriage, singleness, parenting, and investing. Choosing well for any and all of these requires wisdom.

The Journey That Matters

Jesus had something to say about our journey. The most significant thing we must know is who we choose to follow.

In Mark chapter 10, it says, “And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’’ And he said to him, ‘Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.’ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Mark 10:17-22

Jesus said that this journey would begin by being “born again.” He said this to a teacher and ruler named Nicodemus as recorded in John’s Gospel, chapter 3. He was telling the rich man to change his journey and thereby wind up in a different destination.

Sadly, Dennis Miller apparently said, “I don’t need to be born again. I got it right the first time.” He is like the rich man of Mark 10. We don’t get it right the first time.

Romans 3:21-25b

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

How to Identify a Follower of Jesus

Wisdom is needed for every journey and every type of journey. The followers of Jesus know this. They abide in his word and are set free. “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” John 8:31-32

Five Minute Friday

This post is part of the weekly Five-Minute Friday link-up.

All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.