Wisdom of Sirach 18:18-20 LXX

Before you speak, learn,
And before you get sick, take care of your health.
Before you make a judgment, examine yourself closely,
And in the hour of visitation you will find atonement.
Before you become sick, humble yourself;
And at the time of sinning, prove your conversion.

Personal Challenge

There are two ways that we can live our lives: reactively or proactively. Since our culture has made us so comfortable with instant gratification we have become a people that live our lives reactively. I don’t have to plan for anything because I can usually find something to fill my need that is prepackaged, fast, and disposable. I don’t have to be responsible for my actions, or inactions, because I expect someone else to be responsible instead. But as God’s children we are admonished to live our lives proactively and with personal responsibility. This does not mean that we are to be controlling or always focusing on the future, almost to the state of being fearful. It means preparing our minds and hearts so that we can appropriately deal with situations as they arise. I must invest time in learning the ways of my Lord, studying His teachings, praying to Him, forming my life into His image before I can speak words that glorify Him and edify my neighbor. I must constantly be examining my heart before I can speak into the life of another. I cannot avoid temptations and sins in my life if I am not practicing humility and following in the footsteps of my Lord. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Wisdom of Sirach 18:4-6 LXX

Who will measure His majestic power with a number,
And who will add to this measure
While describing His mercies?
There is no one who can add or subtract,
And there is no who can search out the wonders of the Lord.
When a man completes his search, then he starts over;
And when he stops, he will still be perplexed.

Personal Challenge

As followers of Christ, we desire to know Him and to live our lives like His. We do this by pursuing Him, praying to Him, studying about Him, amassing as much knowledge and understanding about Him with the hope that we can fully know Him. However, as we proceed through this life on our journey to theosis we find that the more we get to know Jesus, the more that we realize that we do not know Him at all. And then our journey begins again. It is a mystery and one to be marveled at. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Sirach 17:24-26 LXX

How great the mercy of the Lord is,
And His atonement for those who turn to Him.
For all things are not possible for man,
Because a son of man is not immortal.

Encouraging Words

There is nothing that I can do to earn or generate atonement for my sins. Only through the great mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ can atonement be provided. He is both the High Priest and the Sacrificial Lamb and it is through Him that the great love of our God is poured out on us and all of His creation. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Sirach 17:5-8 LXX

He gave mankind the ability to deliberate,
And a tongue, eyes and ears, and a heart to think with.
He filled them with the skill of comprehension
And showed them good and evil.
He set His eye upon their hearts
To show them the majesty of His works.
They will praise His holy name
So as to fully describe the majesty of His works.

Encouraging Words

We were created in the image of God and oh what a glorious image that is. We are set apart from the rest of creation because of this and there is quite a responsibility that this goes with this. I love how this passage points out that we have been created with a heart to think. We have become so enamored with the intellect, logic, and reason, that we have forgotten that it is within our heart that our Lord and Savior has taken up residence and that is from there that we should govern our lives. And to reinforce this we are also told that He will show us the majesty of His works through His eye that is placed on our hearts. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Sirach 14:20-22 LXX

Blessed is the man who practices wisdom
And discourses with insight.
Whoever ponders the ways of wisdom in his heart
Will also reflect on her secrets.
Pursue wisdom like a tracker
And lie in wait on her paths.

Personal Challenge

I wonder how many people in this, my generation, have ever tracked an animal. In my youth, I used to do this. It is a lot of work and takes much patience. First you must be willing to be silent and do everything that you can to disappear into your surroundings. then you must focus so intently on the object that you are tracking that you almost become one with it. Where it looks, you look. When it breathes, you breathe. When it moves, you move. You get so lost into the animal and the tracking that you no longer exist. What an awesome metaphor this author uses for how we should pursue Wisdom, our Lord Jesus Christ. We must be so intent on our focus of finding Him that we disappear and He appears. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Sirach 11:7-8 LXX

Do not find fault before you examine a situation.
First, understand it, and then make your judgment.
Do not answer before you have listened,
And do not interrupt someone while he is talking.

Personal Challenge

I have often heard it said that God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we could listen twice as much as we speak. I know the truths of this passage and the great value of exercising it in my life, however I find myself so often doing just the opposite. I often jump to the solution of an issue before I take the time to undersrtand it. This always ends in disaster. And if I am not interupting someone so that I can have my say in the conversation then I am often formulating what I am going to say while the other person is talking and missing what they are saying. Both of these practices lead to arrogance, pride, and misunderstandings with those whom I am supposed to be loving. Sounds like I have been shown something that I can work on during Great Lent this year. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Wisdom of Sirach 7:20-21 LXX

Do not mistreat a servant who does his work in truth
Nor a hired worker who devotes himself to you.
Let your soul love an intelligent servant;
Do not deprive him of his freedom.

Personal Challenge

We do not live in a culture or time where servanthood is prevalent, but we do have many opportunities to be in leader/follower situations. For me personally, I am a project manager and at any given time I have scores of people that I am leading, or managing, to get something done. I am also a Sunday School teacher, so leading and directing youth on a regular basis. I am also a husband, a father, and a grandfather, with many opportunities to be leading my loved ones. In all of these cases, it is imperative that I lead with the heart of Jesus and be loving and caring of those under my charge. There is no room and no excuse for mistreatment and infringement upon their personhood and freedom. Only this way can I shine the light of Jesus in this role. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Wisdom of Sirach 7:1-3 LXX

Do no evil things,
And evil will never overtake you.
Stay away from wrongdoing,
And it will turn away from you.
My son, do not sow on the furrows of wrongdoing,
And you will not reap the same things sevenfold.

Wisdom of Sirach 6:18-19 LXX

My son, from your youth up, choose instruction,
And you will find wisdom also into old age.
Come to her as one who plows and sows,
And wait expectantly for her good fruits;
For in her work you will labor a little while,
Then you will quickly eat of her fruit.

Personal Challenge

Our journey toward theosis, or being in the image of Christ, is a lifelong endeavor and not a one time event. In order to effectively traverse this journey, we must be ready, even eager, to receive instruction or correction if we are to truly find Wisdom. We live in a society of fast food and instant gratification and have lost the experience of being a farmer who has to toil to prepare his soil, plant his seeds, tend the crop by pulling the weeds and chasing off predators, patiently waiting for his crop to burst forth. This is how we must olive our lives as we pursue Wisdom, our Lord and Savior, and a life that embraces and glorifies Him. Glory be to God.