The old book is chock full of hidden wisdom, from the narratives of Genesis right through to the mysteries of Revelation. At each juncture God is found living and active, in and through the accounts, the poetry and the prophecy, making meaning for the people of faith, thwarting all who would contend otherwise. There are the go-to places for biblical wisdom, namely Proverbs, the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Job, and James in the New Testament, as well as places like Romans 12 and 1 Thessalonians 5.
Perhaps Jesus said too many wise things to be recorded (John 21:25), but we can resolve that he said one very powerful thing about wisdom. When sending the disciples out, part of his instructions were:
“Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.”
— Matthew 10:16 (CSB)
— Matthew 10:16 (CSB)
Jesus knew his followers would be going out into perilous situations — that they desperately needed wisdom. They would be innocent as sheep, venturing out into situations where they should expect to risk being ravaged. Note the parallels between sheep and doves, and serpents and wolves. These diametrically opposed concepts are crucial in the understanding of an and/both (rather than an either/or) world.
Wisdom first wrestles with the tensions, being able to hold disparate matters together. The wise person transcends the sequestering allegiance of one political party or ideology as the be all and end all. They see beyond sides, agendas and conspiracy theories. They tussle with the dualistic, judgemental mind, seeking instead to perceive truth in the vast freedom between the extremes. To be able to work with this Jesus wisdom, we must be able to hold shrewdness and purity together; one that trusts nothing with the other that trusts everything.
Innocence as a dove has the virtue about it that it protects us from cynicism, yet it is extremely limited in terms of discernment. Shrewdness as a snake is necessary within a world where are there are wolves in every setting, yet it suspects wrong in everything and that’s an overcorrection. We need both.
Having the serpent about us prepares us for encountering wolves. Having the dove about us prepares us for encountering sheep. And yet, wolves are thwarted more by shrewdly deployed innocence or innocence aided by shrewdness than they are by shrewdness or innocence alone, because evil has no answer for a godliness beyond fear, which is a pure faith.
As we take the counsel of Jesus on board, we begin to comprehend that a dove wisdom is purposed for situations with sheep, whilst a serpent wisdom is purposed for situations where there are wolves. The shepherd must protect the sheep, so they need shrewdness to expect attacks on the flock when they least expect them to occur. Whilst ever being watchful, however, innocence gives the shepherd the desire to be present in caring for the flock.
Such innocence believes the best about people, while shrewdness tempers naivete with a healthy dose of suspicion. Nobody who is pure of heart minds being tested. Indeed, they’re glad of the evidence of such protection.
Our job as believers is to recognise that we’re either strong in shrewdness and weaker in innocence — where cynicism is our snare — or we’re strong in innocence and weaker in shrewdness — where naivete is our snare.
Just as the hypostatic union was living and active in Jesus — being that he was fully divine and fully human at the same time [the ultimate and/both reality] — we also need a full measure of shrewdness with a full measure of innocence.
This is the Jesus wisdom we are to seek. With only shrewdness we will see only the wolves and miss loving the sheep. Our cynicism will fail others and God. With only innocence we will miss the wolves and fail the sheep who will be eaten. Our naivete will fail others and God.
We must be shrewd as serpents among wolves, innocent as doves among sheep. Less than the fullness of both is a missing of the mark.
Photo by Nazar Hrabovyi on Unsplash
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