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Exchanged Glory III: Wise as Serpents
…there is good news in Proverbs 26:11. Although it may feel as if addiction can’t be overcome, Proverbs 26:11 implies that it can. If it is a form of foolishness, God’s wisdom will free us from it.
As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
King Solomon describes addiction in unflattering and disgusting terms. Those of us who have seen a pet act out the first part of this proverb know that there are few household scenes more nauseating. Solomon uses it as a graphic picture that impresses on us the stupidity of senseless and destructive habits.
Although I find the proverb amusing, however, if I didn’t trust the God who inspired it, I would consider Solomon ignorant and insensitive. Doesn’t he know how hard it is to deal with addiction? Doesn’t his heart go out to those who suffer under its cruel bondage? He seems to make light of a serious problem, as if it could be fixed by learning a few lessons and practicing a little self-control. We know from experience that dependency is more complicated than that. It is more like a disease than mere foolishness.
We all have quirks that keep us from living up to our potential, but most of us manage to be productive in spite of them. An addiction feels like a quirk that has gotten out of hand. It’s not as if the addict is trying to hurt anyone; it’s more that a hungry inner monster has moved in and taken control. The addict can remember a time when the monster wasn’t there. If only it could be driven away, everything would return to normal, but the monster refuses to leave.
To my natural mind, people like Solomon might mean well, but they come across as if they are making fun of addicts …as if the dependent person should know the answers. “As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly” – it sounds trite and dismissive.
Addicts need help, not criticism. Many have made sincere attempts to stop their compulsive behaviors, but the behaviors have remained. They already feel shame and guilt. Calling them fools while speaking cute sayings about nauseating dogs doesn’t seem to accomplish much.
When I look at what I have just written, I am reminded of what I have sometimes seen in young basketball players. When the coach puts other players in the game ahead of them, they become offended. They “know” that they are working hard and doing well, and they can’t understand why the coach can’t see it. They might not appear great when they are on the court, but in their thinking, that is because they aren’t getting the breaks they need. Everything would work out if the coach would just do his job.
The problem is that these players understand so little about basketball that they can’t judge their own lack of ability. They feel skillful only because true skill is so far beyond them that they don’t recognize what it looks like.
Hopefully, in time, they will grow to understand the game. Then they can put in place a practice program that will bring them up to their potential. Until that time, their ignorance may feel like bliss, but it won’t get them into the starting lineup. Basketball ability comes through long hard training, and players must embrace the need to humbly listen and work. Otherwise, they will stay on the bench.
In the same way, we who fall to addiction often know so little about life that we can’t see what it will take to become free. We feel somewhat wise only because our lack of understanding keeps us from a realistic view of our foolishness. A few small adjustments seem like enough to fix our deeply ingrained sin. When those adjustments don’t work, we feel we have given it our best shot and conclude someone else must not be doing their job.
Our ignorance may feel like bliss (at first at least), but it won’t save us from compulsive actions. Our coach (God) is trying to teach us, but we are often too dull to recognize His input. He is telling us that there is something deeply wrong in our hearts, but we don’t hear Him.
I know the word ‘foolishness’ might not be the one we want to use to describe that something, but is there a better word for it? We don’t know how to deal with the world’s stresses, our weaknesses, or God’s demands. There is an incredible gulf between the way we see life and His abundant life.
There are no shortcuts. We must humbly face the deep darkness within us so God can put in place a light that is bright enough to overcome it. We have to allow Him to change us at the foundation of our being. Our problems won’t be fixed with a few small adjustments. Our minds need to be renewed. We must relearn everything from His perspective.
There is good news in Proverbs 26:11. Although it may feel as if addiction can’t be overcome, Proverbs 26:11 implies that it can. If it is a form of foolishness, God’s wisdom will free us from it. …But the path to freedom isn’t easy for most of us. Very few of us find a quick fix spiritual pill for our obsessions. We usually have to take the road described by the writer of Hebrews:
Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
The prescription is for physical therapy, not a quick miracle cure. By God’s grace, we have to commit to tough decisions that make straight paths for our feet. As we follow them, we will experience divine healing. The Son of God, Who lives in the hearts of believers, will become our wisdom.
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God …
He loves to do this work within us.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
God is broadcasting His wisdom liberally and without reproach. It is available for all to hear, so why don’t we hear it? For most of us, it is because we are tuned to the wrong station. We believe we are hearing the messages we need, but we are descending into confusion.
In this book, we will study how to tune to God’s station. I pray that as you read and apply the insights, God’s broadcast will become loud and clear for you. May our loving Heavenly Father open your eyes and ears to the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are hidden in His Son Jesus.
I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery!
(Colossians 2:2-3, The Message)
Bill Cadden
2012
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