How different might our lives be if we followed the example of Solomon? “Give your servant,” he prayed, “an understanding heart to distinguish right from wrong.” Instead of asking for long life or riches, as many people would, Solomon asked for something of greater value, the gift to tell right from wrong.
Moments ago, we proclaimed, “Lord, I love your commands.” Do we honestly love them? Were we speaking from the heart or simply moving our lips? “The law of your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” Really? The author of this psalm sees the wisdom of God’s commands and so he says, “Wonderful are your decrees; therefore I observe them. The revelation of your words shed light, giving understanding to the simple.”
The gospel today presents us with three more parables that Jesus uses to describe the kingdom of heaven. Do we understand them? In the first two, he compares the kingdom to a treasure buried in a field and a pearl of great value. When it is discovered, the finder sacrifices much to obtain it. For the finder, there is nothing more priceless than the kingdom, but could we say the same? Is our personal pursuit for the kingdom our top priority in life? Jesus knows otherwise, which is why he adds the third parable, a somber reminder that not everyone appreciated the wisdom that he is sharing.
Even Jesus is asking us, “Do you understand all these things?” Having finished the parable of the net, he cautions, “What is bad they throw away.” So long as we consent to evil in our lives, we cannot honestly say that the pursuit of heaven is our top priority. We risk being tossed out with others who have chosen to ignore God’s commands and wisdom.
Without wisdom, we can fail to see the harm that evil does in our lives. Anyone who selectively defines the notion of following Christ may feel there is nothing wrong with ignoring a certain command or facet of our belief but those who do really can’t say “Lord, I love your commands.” Perhaps the lack of wisdom thwarts them from seeing the harm that lurks when they accept or tolerate something that is wrong.
As children, we often lacked that wisdom. Consequently, our parents were sometimes hard pressed to explain to us why certain music, movies, and magazines were not acceptable for us to listen to, see or read. One day some children wanted to see a movie that was rated PG-13, so they confronted their father. He listened patiently to all their reasons.
They argued that even though the movie was rated PG-13, there were no sexy scenes; the language wasn’t that bad. In fact, the Lord’s name was used in vain only three times in the whole movie. They admitted that there was one scene where some people and a building were blown up, but to them, violence was normal for any movie. The special effects were fantastic, the movie had their favorite actors and the plot was action packed. Despite all the excuses his children could render for the movie’s PG-13 rating, their father wouldn’t budge. Without giving any satisfactory explanation, he firmly and simply said, “No!”
That evening, after dinner, the father asked his kids if they wanted some freshly baked brownies. He explained that he had used the family’s favorite recipe but added a little of something new. The children asked what that new ingredient was. He calmly replied that he had added some dog poop.
However, he quickly assured them that only a small amount was added. All the other ingredients were top quality and he had taken great care to bake the brownies at the precise temperature for the right amount of time. Even with their father’s assurance that the brownies were of near perfect quality, the kids would not eat any. Their father acted surprised. After all, the dog poop was only one ingredient.
Surely, they would hardly notice the poop. Still the kids politely declined their father’s brownies. He then explained that the movie they wanted to see was just like the brownies. A little poop, he said, makes the difference between a great treat and something disgusting and distasteful. The father went on to make clear that even though Hollywood wants us to believe that most of today’s movies are acceptable fare, many are not with their vulgar language, nudity or violence.
Now, whenever this father’s children want to see a film that is questionable, he merely asks them if they would like some of his special dog poop brownies. That ends their discussion.
Satan tries to enter our lives in countless ways by deceiving us into believing that a little bit of evil doesn’t matter. Put the movie you want to watch to the test. Does it have a little “poop” in it?
For that matter, put whatever other wants or priorities you have to the test. A fitting litmus test would be “Is what I want to do or see right or wrong in the sight of God? Is what I believe right or wrong in the sight of God?” As that father so wisely knew, Satan can easily dupe us into believing there is nothing harmful about doing something wrong but even a little sin goes a long ways in tainting our lives and our relationships with God and others. Like Solomon, we need wisdom to tell right from wrong if we are to be spared the harm that evil can do to us and to our relationships with those whom we love.
Think of God’s wisdom as the perfect recipe for pursuing the kingdom of heaven. That wisdom comes to us from many sources, including our parents, teachers, and saints. A moral person of character draws from a storeroom of treasured, witnessed experiences and memories. When we alter God’s recipe for living, leaving out what God says is right and/or adding that which God tells us is wrong, we inhibit ourselves and future generations from realizing all that the kingdom of heaven truly is.