I remember, as a child, when I said or did something foolish, my dad reproved me with this statement: “There’s a schoolhouse on every corner. How did you miss them all?” Now that I think about it as an octogenarian I know he was spurring me on the learn all I could, to make common sense but correct decisions, and to learn something new every day. He was training me in discernment, in making sure my facts were right, and, perhaps most important, to never jump to conclusions without studying the situation and knowing the facts. My father was a wise man, and I learned to emulate his thoughtful approach to life.
Does that mean that my spontaneous nature always allows me to think before I speak and never jump to a conclusion? No. In God’s wisdom, He paired me with a husband who always gets the last word when my creative mind suggests something out of the box. But I still got my purple laundry room!
God has something to say about all this. I spent my career as an educator, a prolific reader, a creative project producer, and an innovative problem solver to engage my students’ creativity. Much of my career I taught gifted students who often exhibit problem-solving skills and ideas that amazed me. We entered and won competitions for Future Problem Solving and Odyssey of the Mind. When a new city was being proposed near the school in Cocoa, Florida, we attended city planning meetings and created a model city in my classroom. The students had to build the infrastructure, decide the best places for hospitals, low-cost housing, hospitals, the sewage and water facilities, government bujildings, and shopping centers. They designed bridges, facilitated traffic flow, parking, and playgrounds for both children and adult. They built a stadium for sports, theaters, churches, synogogues, and thought about the ADA rules for people with various handicaps. Amazingly, the new city of Viera, built on what was once cowfields and marshland, looks very much like our plan. That is not a coincidence. City planners approved many of their ideas. With out project, we incorporated science, social studies, lots of math, and language arts for a comprehensive activity that demanded common sense and practicality along with out-of-the-box thinking and creativity.
God has something to say about this. After listening to some of the nonsense thinking yesterday at the climate meeting being held in Switzerland this week, I’m wondering whether my students could have debated the topic and taught some of these “experts” some common sense. I would hope some of them would bravely espouse the truth that God created the world, that there have always been times historically when changes have occurred, that there is the same amount of water in the world as in the first days of creation, that immutable laws of nature balance out and we are not in charge of the sunrise, the tides, the rotation of the earth, weather patterns, and astrophysics. Yes, we can observe. Yes, we can innovate. Yes, we can collectively solve problems. Yes, we can observe, keep records, and look for trends. But, I would hope my students would have told these “experts” to just chill, to find ways to use our resources well, to explore space and learn everything we can about advances in medicine, physics, astronomy, oceanography, and energy production. Would these rich men, owners of private jets and waterfront mansions listen? Is it wise to put diapers and masks on cows to cut down on methane? Will migration cause a world which cannot govern? Did Miami flood? Did Mt. Fujiyama lose its snowcap?
Change is not always bad, it seems to me. Man, made in the image of God, has the ability to adapt to changing conditions. God told Adam to rule over the animals of the world, and directed him to work. He has always directed man to innovate, to dream big, and to accomplish great things.
This is what God’s Word says: “My child, eat honey, for it is good, and th honeycomb is sweet to the taste. In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short.” God wants man to enjoy his creation, to look at the sunrise in wonder, to see the rainbow and remember His covenant promise, to survey the land and use it well, to sail the oceans, even to reach to the stars. Are we to seek new ways to do things? Yes. Man’s tools have changed. Man’s knowledge of the universe has expanded. Man has been permitted, in God’s wisdom, to use the laws of physics, to create medications and procedures to keep us healthy and productive.
We have applied wisdom to help solve many of the problems man has created because of his greed, his appetite for dominance, his ability to deceive others, all part of his sinful nature. We have those with prophetic warnings, and we have some in power who want to change the world’s use of resources, changes that may produce massive difficulties because their common sense is not guiding their decisions.
I wonder what my father would have said to government officials who trust in their collective wisdom, making God in their flawed images. He and I would tell them to get wisdom and understanding. He and I would say, windmills were never efficient producers of energy, and upsetting nature’s balance is a foolish thing to do. And certainly, reverting to cutting down trees for fuel this winter is a reversal of the efficiency of fossil fuels we’ve mastered through innovative technology. Every day the talking heads on television pronounce “expert” solutions to raise man’s anxiety level. When will they learn that following God’s laws, appreciating the beauty of God’s world, living in brotherhood and peace, resting on the Sabbath day, and bringing our cares to the Almighty God is true wisdom. This Almighty God who created this world and pronounced it good. And, this benevolent, loving God solved our sin problem. He saved our wicked, self-centered, greedy, manipulative, deceptive, power-hungry sinful souls when we lose our way, and said, Peace, Be Still,” for “behold, I have made all things new.” Heaven seems so much sweeter, for it is God’s way of saying that the world needs a Savior more than we need windmills and diapers on dairy cows.
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