How loud are the voices of scoffers in your life? The mockers, the angry, the rude, the crass. How much ear do you give to those who tear you down rather than gently exhort or build you up?
Ours is the age of the scoffer. Election season magnifies the scorn that lies just beneath the surface. TikTok, X, YouTube, and Facebook serve our prurient interest in watching others be “slammed,” “knocked down,” and “exposed.” The equation seems simple: the harsher the persona, the more views.
The longest book of the Bible, the songbook of the people of God, begins with a warning to those who surround themselves with mocking voices rather than godly advice.
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers. (Psalm 1:1)
Any parent knows that children learn to destroy before they learn to build. Toddlers tear apart puzzles before they learn how to put them together, they demolish building blocks before they construct them. It’s hard to build but easy to destroy.
A lightbulb went off sometime during my second year of studying philosophy in college. The history of philosophy is the history of each subsequent generation poking holes in the former generation’s theories. Inevitably, their critiques last longer than their own philosophical edifices. Are those deconstructing their faith doing as much constructing as they are destructing? Probably not. It’s easier to topple a structure than it is to build one. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but with the right explosives, it could be destroyed in one.
There is a time for disagreement. The Christian life doesn’t ignore hardships nor turn a blind eye to darkness. We look square in the face of suffering (consider the book of Job), meaninglessness (consider the book of Ecclesiastes), and death (consider the cross). Living the authentic Christian life is not living the life of a Pollyanna. But because we believe that God is sovereignly in control, we are confident that our resurrected Savior is “making all things new” (Rev 21:5).
Scorn is cheap. Disdain and contempt are sold in bulk at the dollar store. But Solomon reminds us, “Wisdom is better than jewels” (Prov 8:11).
The author of Psalm 1 doesn’t suggest the remedy for scorn is burying our head in the sand like the ostrich. Instead, we follow God’s Word, planting our roots by “streams of water,” and bearing fruit for the benefit of others. He says,
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:2-3)
Step back and evaluate what you are absorbing in your life. What is the ratio of wisdom and encouragement to scoffing? How loud is God’s truth in your life? How do you start your day? End your day? What voices echo in your head? In Brett McCracken’s very helpful book The Wisdom Pyramid, McCracken uses the analogy of the old food pyramid to help us ask the question: is my “wisdom diet” a healthy one? A couple of years ago, McCracken and others helped me see how my wisdom diet was off. Recognizing that social media's challenges outweighed its rewards, I decided a couple of years ago to step away from it.
Scoffers abound. Sources of wisdom are rare. Let us seek out God’s voice through his Word, through prayer, and through godly people around us so that our roots might go deep in his streams of wisdom.
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