When Jesus was sending out His twelve disciples to proclaim the kingdom of God, heal the sick and cast out demons, He said to them in Matthew 10:16, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." (See also Luke 10:3)
Today, each of you Christian, believer & beloved of Christ, child of God, is sent out to the world too. Whether you have a spiritual ministry or a career/profession, you are His witness to the world (see Matthews 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).
As Jesus had said, you are indeed His sheep sent out amongst the wolves. The wolves here speak of people with fleshly wisdom and earthly values. These are people who may harm you for their own advantage and may not live by the principles of God (i.e. godly values) but by the principles of this fallen world. However, let’s also not start judging the unbelievers, or point finger at one another in the Body of Christ. We are not aiming at any person here, but at every believer’s ‘thought life’ (see 2 Corinthians 10:3-6). Know that one of Jesus’ anointing and ministry is ‘to proclaim liberty to the captives’ (see Luke 4:18). In other words, He came to bring ‘renewal of mind’ from the earthly values.
So, how to have the godly wisdom that triumph over the devil’s wisdom?
God loves you so much He would not want to see you deceived the way Adam and Eve used to be deceived by the ‘serpent’ those days. That’s why the Word of God says, “Be wise as serpents”. So that you can now more than match the serpent’s tricks! If in time past, you were ‘no match’ to the serpent’s wisdom, I have good news for you today. When Christ walked on earth, He more than matched whatever the ‘serpent’ had to conjure up against Him! Today, as a believer, you are indeed after Christ’s seed (or ‘spiritual DNA’) as well. Colossians 2:3 says, “In Him, you have all the treasures of wisdom…”, and James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
The apostle Paul told the Ephesians to walk in wisdom in Ephesian 5:15-21, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, *redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but *understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but *be filled with the Spirit, *speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, *singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, *giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, *submitting to one another in the fear of God.” (See also 1 Corinthians 14:20; Colossians 1:9; 4:5-6)
‘The serpent’ (see Genesis 3:1), or the devil loves it *when you lose your right timing and opportunity, or when you get cheated, conned, or being taken advantage of. He loves it *when you are ignorant of the will of God and therefore lose your direction in life. He also loves it *when you refuse to be filled in the Spirit or pray in the spirit, thus being weak in the spirit. *He will do anything to make you feel rejected and therefore refuse to join any church gathering, or *to entice you to neglect your time of worshiping God or reading the Word of God. He wants you to start feeling that God is far away from you or angry with you. *He also wants you to feel that you are always lacking and discontented. Not just that, *he will also always try to sow seed of discord among the believers, so that they’ll always strife against one another. The serpent will also do all he can to make sure you get ‘stranded’ in the status-quo, so that you are unable to move forward!
But when you choose to walk in the wisdom of God (His way), you rise above the way of the world, above all the influences of the ‘principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this age, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places’ (see Ephesians 6:12).
Therefore, fear not because you can choose to walk in the wisdom of God and thus be wiser than ‘the serpent’:
* The Lord is your Redeemer and He is the God of second chance. If you have lost your prime time, opportunity in the past, or been cheated and taken advantage of before, ask Him and He can grant you even better opportunity doors from now on (see Titus 2:14).
* Know that it’s the sure will of God for you to be saved, restored, renewed, healed, delivered and provided for at all times (see Luke 4:18). These are His general will for you. Choose also to seek His specific will for you and He would be glad to show you.
* Choose to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and pray in the spirit often, and you will never be lacking wisdom and direction in life (see John 14:26). His Spirit is the Spirit of wisdom.
* Appreciate corporate worship and fellowship in church gatherings, so that you can exhort, encourage, and strengthen one another in Christ (see Acts 2:42).
* No matter how busy you are, choose to find personal time and space to worship God. When you have close relationship with God, no temptation or trial can shake you. Also, during your personal worship, God can give you the wisdom and ability to succeed with less effort and time (see James 4:7-8, 10).
* Choose to give thanks to God always for everything He has provided you and start giving thanks for His future blessings too. Know that God, your Abba Father loves to bless you with every good thing in life (see Matthew 7:11).
* Choose to submit to the spiritual authority or leader God places over you. Also, esteem and accept one another in the Body of Christ (see Hebrews 13:17; Philippians 2:3)
You see, walking in godly wisdom cannot be achieved by enforced religious act or self-effort. You simply choose to walk in it because you know God loves you and wants you to experience His goodness. Just as when you chose to receive Christ and salvation by faith through the conviction of the Holy Spirit in your heart, you can only be made wiser by the working of the Holy Spirit in your life! For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). When you choose to agree with God’s way and to honor Him in your daily walk, He’ll start His work of renewing your mind with His thoughts, values and wisdom (see Titus 3:5).
Also, when you are wise and successful, choose to be ‘harmless as doves’. Apostle Paul told the Romans in Romans 16:17-20, “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” In the world, you may have met people who would do all they can, and at all costs, to get what they want, even if it means causing misfortune to other people. But you don’t have to be the same to succeed in the world because you have your Abba Father who watches out for you and gives you wisdom to succeed. Not being aggressive, competitive, and repulsive does not make you a loser.
Remember 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God --- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption --- that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD."
People of God, you are the ‘sent out’ ones and you shine as light in the world (see Philippians 2:15). The preaching of gospel to your family members, relatives and friends will surely be effective when it is coupled with your life’s testimony that glorifies the Lord. Therefore, my friends, by His grace and His Spirit, as the Word says, be wise as serpents and be harmless as doves.