The Wise Man

Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. -- Proverbs 3:7

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. -- Proverbs 16:25

I have seen quite a bit the last few days about an article someone wrote describing the “modern man”.  The piece has been the subject of ridicule in certain quarters.  I have not read more than a few of the twenty-some marks of the modern man, but I think I get the idea.  I am not a modern man by that writer’s definition, and that does not bother me in the least.  My goal, which I doubt I will reach in this life, is to be a wise man. 

Sometimes I get caught up in trends -- for example, I have boots with square toes.  Most of us follow fashion now and then.  We upgrade our electronic devices, wear boxer-briefs, or eat hummus.  Hairstyles and clothing styles come and go, but values, principles, and truth are eternal.  The modern man follows the trends.  The wise man seeks the truth. 

The modern man cultivates good opinions among his set of friends and associates.  He wants to be thought of as knowledgeable and sophisticated by those whom he admires and envies.  The wise man desires a good report before God and to be a righteous witness in the world.  He genuinely loves his fellow man but does not trust himself to him. 

The wise man knows that there is evil in the world, that there is no safety or security in this life and no guarantee of tomorrow.  He makes prudent plans for the future but lives fully in the present as in eternity.  The modern man believes that humans are better and smarter and kinder than they were 50 or 500 years ago, that the future will always be better than the past, that values have evolved, that truth is relative to the age, and that traditions are mere amusements. 

The modern man has some admirable traits, no doubt, but most of them have been picked up from the Christian world view that he is now convincing himself is archaic, barbaric, and crude.  The wise man is in the world but not of it, a possessor not possessed, seeing the snares that lie behind lures. 

Civilization can endure so long as it is based on reality.  The wise man builds on the Rock.  When we, as a whole, destroy the foundations, the house will not stand.  The modern man builds on the sand.