The prayer, “So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart,” serves as the turning point in the larger prayer of Psalm 90. The human experience of time is a major theme of the psalm as a whole.
Connections 01.29.2023: Wisdom for the Here and Now
January 22, 2023 by
The city’s residents and visitors included educated Greek philosophers and faithful Jewish scholars alongside many other religious groups and ethnic traditions.
Crossroads: Our Wisdom vs. God’s Wisdom
September 19, 2022 by
There are many instances in my childhood where logic got me into trouble. It usually began with me saying “I told you so” and you can guess that it didn’t end well.
Crossroads: Small
October 11, 2021 by
Has nature ever just wowed you? Have you ever felt small when looking at the ocean or the stars? Talk about a time when you felt awed by something in nature.
Connections 09.12.21: Embracing Wisdom
September 5, 2021 by
We hear a lot of debates these days about what constitutes knowledge and what characterizes wisdom. Some of us may even engage in such debates.
Crossroads: What Should I Ask For?
August 23, 2021 by
As a child of the 90s, I cannot tell you how many times I watched Aladdin. It was one of my favorite movies.
Connections 08.15.2021: Pursuing Wisdom
August 8, 2021 by
In today’s passage, we have an earnest king. Solomon loves God and is trying hard to live like he should, “walking in the statues of his father David” (v. 3).
Connections 03.07.2021: Foolish Wisdom
February 28, 2021 by
I admit to being a little troubled by what Paul says in this passage. Or it might be more accurate to say that I’m a little troubled by ways people might use—misuse, really—what Paul says.
Formations 01.19.2020: The Wisdom of God
January 12, 2020 by
Have you noticed that the message of the cross doesn’t make a lot of sense? At least, it doesn’t easily line up with things that we have heard all our lives. “Look out for Number One.”
Formations 08.18.2019: A Constant Search for Wisdom
August 11, 2019 by
Over the summer, my daughters and I have been sorting through the junk stockpiled in our unfinished basement and searching for the treasures. One of those treasures is a huge plastic bin filled with my high school memorabilia.
Connections 09.23.2018: Real Wisdom Indeed
September 16, 2018 by
My maternal grandmother died suddenly in 2012. She was eighty-two and had lived a good, long life full of blessings along with heartaches, but we still weren’t expecting her to die, and her passing hurt us all deeply.
Formations 09.16.2018: Words of Wisdom
September 9, 2018 by
My grandmother Joan taught me, as she did with all of her grandchildren, to pay attention to language. She had been an elementary-school teacher, so she taught us with sharp, repeated, and mostly frustrating questions.
Formations 04.03.2016: Questions that Make a Difference
March 27, 2016 by
Growing up, Lisa Gross was fed traditional Korean food cooked by her grandmother, who came to America from Korea with Gross’s mother in the 1970s. Every time Gross would come into the kitchen while her grandmother cooked, she was sent back out to do her homework and study.
Formations 07.12.2015: The Value of Wisdom
July 5, 2015 by
Canadian author and theologian Tom Harpur observes that otherwise brilliant high-profile celebrities can get themselves into some extraordinary messes. “If only wisdom were valued as highly as charisma is,” he says, “many would be spared humiliation on the public stage.”
Formations 06.21.2015: Legacy
June 14, 2015 by
I’m part of what has been dubbed the “sandwich generation”: people of an age where they’re caring for aging parents while still supporting their own children.
Formations 04.19.2015: Seeking Wisdom
April 12, 2015 by
Who are the wisest people you know? More important, how did they get that way? A sociology professor at the University of Florida studies and writes on the topic of wisdom.