Sober Thinking #1 - The Three Legged Table
This week we review the fifth sermon in the "Wisdom for Everyday Life" series which was "Sober Thinking in an Opinionated World." 
In the sermon I introduced the idea of a three legged table (three legged tables and chairs don't wobble easily.)
The three legs to sober thinking are: Wisdom, Discernment and Love.
In an opinionated world where rage, aggression, outrage and winning at all costs are the order of the day, these three legs are crucial.
Here's a striking Old Testament example from the early days of King Solomon who was renowned for his wisdom.
| Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us. "During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son--and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne." The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours." But the first one insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so they argued before the king. The king said, "This one says, My son is alive and your son is dead,' while that one says, No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.' " Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other." The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!" But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!" Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother." (1Kings3:16-27) |
Solomon did not have DNA testing available to him. The only knowledge that he had of this situation was the conflicting testimonies of these two women. But while knowledge was not useful in this situation, WISDOM understood the protective nature of the a true mother.
Solomon couldn't rely on investigation or deduction here. He had to be DISCERNING. It seems that his discernment was that one of the mothers had a hardness to her. She was not grieving the loss of her child, nor was there any sign of remorse about causing her child's death. Her claim on the living child was that she would not lose face as a bad mother, and that she would not be be childless while the other woman had a child. She was operating from a mindset that could be summarised as "Either I win, or we must both lose."
Solomon's discernment led him to use the test of LOVE and so he decreed that the baby should be cut in two and each mother be given a half. This command revealed the lovelessness of the lying mother and it revealed the love of the true mother. The bad mother was only interested in not losing, whereas the good mother would rather lose the fight than see her baby die.
Solomon applied wisdom, discernment and love to this very difficult scenario.
In an opinionated world, sober thinking requires all three.
- Wisdom asks what is true and looks for meaning.
- Discernment asks what is really going on.
- Love asks what will protect and bless the people involved.
Without Wisdom we can be confidently wrong.
Without Discernment we can be easily manipulated.
Without Love we can win the argument and lose the person.
May God give us all three
