Tag: sex workers

Posted on

Solving human dilemmas.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Some time later two prostitutes came to the king to have an argument settled. “Please, my Lord,” one of them began, “this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby while she was with me in the house. Three days later this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there were only two of us in the house. “But her baby died during the night when she rolled over on it. Then she got up in the night and took my son from beside me while I was asleep. She laid her dead child in my arms and took mine to sleep beside her. And in the morning when I tried to nurse my son, he was dead! But when I looked more closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t my son at all.” ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Most often, when I think about wisdom, I imagine the problems and situations regarding finances, major life decisions and discerning God’s purpose for my life. You’ll notice that all of those are self focused. Of course we need wisdom to make decisions on who we might marry or stepping up to rent a more accommodating and expensive living situation. Or, even major health decisions over us or our children. These decisions alone are hard and we feel a sense of desperation. I recently spoke with a couple facing a major medical decision. The doctor only presented two options: stop taking these life saving medications or lose a major organ! Both were horrible options. They needed wisdom!

Here in Kings, this story follows the supernatural interaction between God and Solomon. Kings records that Solomon loved the Lord and kept all his father’s (David’s) decrees – plus Solomon gave offerings to the Lord… 1,000 of them! God was pleased with Solomon and offered him anything he wanted. Fame, riches, long life or death to his enemies – just name it and God would give it to him. Solomon asked for wisdom. Can I pause and tell you, every parent wants their child to do better, be better than themselves. Great parents want their child to seek good things, not selfish pursuits. God gave Solomon what he asked for PLUS all the things he didn’t ask for.

This story here is the first recorded story of the results of that wisdom. I see two amazing things in these verses. One: the first cases Solomon would hear as a judge would be from a woman (really both) who was an outlier, a sex worker in ancient times! This tells me that everyone rich or poor, good or bad reputations, had access to justice in this new court. Two: the case tells me that wisdom is not only for personal insight, but can and should be applied when helping others solve their most difficult decisions or resolve their conflicts.

Only one woman was telling the truth, but with no other witnesses available, it would be impossible to know which one. The point that leaps out at me, as a leader and dealing with people problems.; I need Godly wisdom to help resolve human dilemmas! This sad and messy issue would not resolve itself, it required someone outside of the two women’s lives and situation to bring a judgment and allow justice to be served. One child has died and the two mothers are fighting to keep the living one! I also notice there is no mention of a father in this child’s life! So, whatever happens, one woman will be raising the child alone.

As a pastor, I come across these kinds of modern human dilemmas all the time. People asking for prayer, asking for outside help on making difficult decisions. We all need wisdom, but oftentimes the situation calls for the necessity of Godly wisdom. The New Testament is helpful when James writes in 1:5, “If anyone lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously!”

Prayer

Dad,
We get ourselves into such a mess! And, yes, sometimes messes, conflicts and issues just come our way. We find ourselves so desperate to want to make the right decision, even if we have caused our own pain. That’s when we call out to you to ask for wisdom. I have total confidence that you will answer because you have done so in my life many times over. It becomes a really tricky part of faith! Faith to ask, faith to listen and faith to be patience and still while you work things out on our behalf. I am so very grateful for your wisdom. And, that you give it freely to those who ask.

Posted on

Real men are not fools.

Reading Time: 3 minutes 
“While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain, I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense.” Proverbs‬ ‭7:6-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Wisdom, personified as someone looking out of the window of their house, sees young men. I don’t know what kind of neighborhood wisdom lived in but wow, she could look out and see some solicitation happening right across the street!

She sees young men and specifically the one who lacked common sense. What she saw was one of the four words the wisdom writers use for “fool.” Did you know there were four Hebrew words for fool? 1. Keciyl- stupid or silly, 2. Pethiy- seducible or simple, 3. Eviyl- perverse, and 4. Nabal- wicked (for more – bit.ly/biblefool).

Here the word “naive” in other translations is “simple” and yep, you guessed it, the seducible kind. I totally believe that wisdom looks out and sees this in some young men.

However, I’ve seen a lot of “simple” men (not just young) in my life. I used to think these were men who had horrible-to-none father figures, but some had/have great Dads and they just want to be knuckleheads.

I look out my own window and see plenty! I see young men race through neighborhoods, not caring about young children darting out in the street. I hear young men “sharing” their over-driven, expensive, testosterone fueled stereos leaving car alarms blaring and windows shaking. I see really expensive cars, all customized and tricked out with all the bling that could have gone into a ring for their girl. I see prison tats and angry death-glares as they swagger down our street scoping out a score or peeing spray paint to tag a neighbors wall. I hear f-bombs dropped as they talk to their woman and illegitimate children in tow. Oh, I see and hear a lot of vibrato, but I do not see men or maturity. I see fools.

I drive though my city and see young boys, preschoolers walking with their moms. They are as cute and as innocent as can be. I pray they don’t grow up to be fools, but I also know about the vicious cycles of a macho culture that will leave them with few choices to follow wisdom.

My heart breaks. I, like wisdom herself, want to call out and beg them not to be seduced by all the evils of this world, all the easy opportunities to just grow up mirroring what they saw in their own estranged father.

These stories of the simple do not turn out well. The wisdom writers, speaking of the temptress, say, “Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death.” Honestly, sex isn’t the only seduction – power is just as tempting. And young men who figure out “to be feared, is to be powerful,” mistake the real purpose of power. Real men, wise, mature men, know that real power is to protect the weak, not intimidate them. And real men know that sex is not love. Sex is given, received and experienced in a lifetime bond of commitment and sacrifice to one woman; and to make kids that grow up secure, protected, and wise to love God & others.

PRAYER:

Dad,
I would never have figured out how to be a man if you had not found me and rescued me from a cycle of chaos. You pulled me out of generations of some good-hearted but weak, simple men trying to be fathers in my life. Of course, Ben, dad #3, wasn’t kind at all he was a Nabal kind of fool – wicked and conniving to his core. Thank you for wisdom. Thank you for discipline of character. Thank you for being a great Dad!