Gaining a Heart of Wisdom

By Danny Saavedra

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”—Psalm 90:12 (NIV)

C.S. Lewis, a well-known apologist and Christian scholar, wrote some of the greatest stories of the last hundred years. One of his greatest works of fiction is a book titled, The Screwtape Letters. It’s the story of an elder demon named Screwtape who counsels a junior demon, his nephew Wormwood. In the story, the nephew had just become a tempter. His job? To keep new Christians from growing in their faith, to keep them stagnant, and to make them ineffective Christians who have no ability or desire to truly advance the kingdom.

The following excerpt is from The Screwtape Letters: “Be sure that the patient remains completely fixated on politics. Arguments, political gossip, and obsessing on the faults of people they have never met serves as an excellent distraction from advancing in personal virtue, character, and the things the patient can control. Make sure to keep the patient in a constant state of angst, frustration, and general disdain towards the rest of the human race in order to avoid any kind of charity or inner peace from further developing. Ensure the patient continues to believe that the problem is ‘out there’ in the ‘broken system’ rather than recognizing there is a problem with himself.

“You can make him waste his time not only in conversation he enjoys with people whom he likes, but in conversations with those he cares nothing about on subjects that bore him. You can make him do nothing at all for long periods. You can keep him up late at night, not roistering, but staring at a dead fire in a cold room. All the healthy and outgoing activities which we want him to avoid can be inhibited and nothing given in return, so that at last he may say, as one of my own patients said on his arrival down here, ‘I now see that I spent most of my life in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked’

“Nothing is very strong: strong enough to steal away a man’s best years not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why.”

Wow, right? Distraction has seemingly become the greatest weapon in the utility belt of the enemy. A distracted Christian becomes a disengaged Christian, a disengaged Christian becomes a discouraged Christian, and a discouraged Christian becomes a defeated Christian.

Distractions are what Jesus was referring to in Luke 8:7 (NIV) when He said, “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.” When we become inundated by everything and anything, we become ineffective and unfruitful as disciples. Whether it’s the barrier of busyness, the impediment of idleness, the obstruction of amusement, or the pitfall of pleasures, the outcome will be the same: a wasted life.

But imagine if you knew exactly when your time was going to be over. How would you act? Would you spend as much time playing video games, thinking about what you’re going to eat, or talking about movies? Would knowing help you starve your distractions and invest in what’s important if you were acutely aware of the preciousness of each moment?

Friends, we don’t need to know the exact moment of our death for that; we simply need to ask the Lord, like Moses did, to “teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” With a heart of wisdom that’s attuned to the things of God and to the movement of the Spirit, we can defeat distractions and live a focused, intentional life of purpose and fulfillment . . . a life well spent and well lived.

Pause: What are the biggest distractions in your life? What non-essential things keep you from accomplishing all God has for you? What are the little time vacuums that fill up the empty space in your schedule?

Practice: Objectively list your biggest distractions and time drainers. For brevity’s sake, stick to the five biggest. Then try to estimate how much time you spend on each one throughout the week. Add up all five and write down your grand total.

Pray: Father, I pray and ask You will help me to not fall into the traps of the world, into the schemes of the enemy, or to succumb to the worries of the world. Instead, by Your Holy Spirit, remind me daily of the preciousness of life, of the call and mission of the kingdom You’ve given me, and to invest my time into the things that glorify You and draw others to Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.