From Eden till now the serpent has ever stood for cunning, foresight, and wisdom. The serpent charms when he would destroy. His stillness, his celerity of movement, his certainty in action, are all manifestations of his peculiar wisdom. There is no cunning enchantment like his; no such hiding of motives and covering of purposes; nor is there anything which compares to the fear that he inspires, as he holds spellbound his intended victim.
Through the serpent, Satan deceived our parents in Eden, and led them into disobedience against their Maker. Upon the serpent fell the great primal curse. The serpent was ever to be the enemy of God and man. When God would convince Moses of his divine call to lead Israel out of Egypt, He turned into a serpent the rod with which Moses had guided his flock in Midian. A look at the brazen serpent which Moses set up on a pole in the wilderness healed the people bitten by the fiery serpents which God had sent into the camp to trouble Israel. This was a mighty illustration of Christ's saving power.
When Christ sent the twelve to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel," He commanded, "Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." Matt. 10:16. The meaning of this charge is that Christ's servants shall be as wise as the men of the world. That they are not to be inferior to the world, but are to be far wiser than worldly men, is sustained by numerous Biblical instances. What man in all the ancient world will compare with Moses in wisdom? He ranks above any other man of any age who has ever been a great leader of men. He outwitted Pharaoh with all his counselors and wise men. He outgeneraled the trained officers of the Egyptian host, and led a race of slaves from the brick-kilns and ovens of Egypt into self-government and obedience to the highest moral law that has ever been given to man. Out of chaos and ignorance he brought order and discipline such as no other man in any age ever undertook.
David, the shepherd lad, who became the greatest king of Israel and the mightiest warrior and soundest statesman on earth of his day, was God's man, loyal to Jehovah and acknowledging Him in all his plans. He was as great a poet as he was statesman and general. Pre-eminent he stood among the men of his day, and among men of his generation there was not his equal. Joseph and Daniel and the three Hebrews in Babylon are examples of what God would have His servants be.
Paul stood before the rulers of his age and preached Christ and Him crucified in such a way that kings feared and did him honor. Thus it was with such men as Luther and Wesley and a host of others who preached with great power, and yet had the wisdom that classed them above the great worldly men of their day. God's plan has ever been that His servants shall be superior to this world and to its wisest men.
God's work today, as always, requires superior men. They must be able to handle statecraft, must have vision for far-seeing policies that deal not alone with the present, but also with the future. They must be able to devise plans so that the church shall not perish from off the earth, but though wrestling continually with difficult problems, shall go from strength to strength; they must be men who, while being wise above the worldly men of their day, are not influenced by nor subject to the worldly tendencies of their environment.
It is in spiritual things that God's men are to be wise as serpents. They are to be separate from the world. They are not to seek nor assume superiority; but they are to be superior in fact. Their counsel is to be as the counsel of God. They are to speak for God and are to feed the flock, guiding the church as wise statesmen guide the affairs of nations, so that the church shall grow in spiritual life and power. The men of God are to be spiritual leaders. Their wisdom, their policies and leadership, are to be manifested in promoting the best interests of the kingdom of God as worldly statesmen advocate laws and regulations that will bring prosperity to their constituencies.
Many seem to think that vision and planning belong to only a special official few,—that their own humble duty is cheerful obedience. In God's work this must never be. Every preacher should be a statesman, and think and see what is best for the church. The wisdom of many is far superior to the wisdom of a few. The church is a democracy, and it must be educated to think and plan and grow. The preacher is not alone to be a teacher, but he is to be a seer, a prophet, and must help the church to work in unity and to preserve its own existence. He should teach the church how to keep the peace in Christian fellowship and to increase in strength. Every church should strive to perpetuate itself. It should early be taught that it should labor to bring others to Christ. It takes wise planning and continual struggling and effort to attain growth. Missionary endeavor and personal labor must be put forth by every member in a church in order to increase its membership. Then church finances must be fostered. The church is to be taught the obligation of tithing and of making freewill offerings. Prosperity in spiritual things is not total indifference to material things. A spiritual church will be a giving church.
The minister is to be wiser than his fellows in meeting emergencies. These will arise. No community of believers will escape them. We are in a sin-stricken world; wolves are all about the flock. The preacher is to be wise as a serpent in handling difficult problems in the church. He is to seek wisdom from above, so as to be able to counsel the church aright.
Many a church has been rent and torn because of the lack of wisdom on the part of some preacher.
It is the duty of the minister to keep peace in the community of believers. This cannot be done by partisanship. It must be done in the love and spirit of Christ. The true minister knows no favorites; he is just to all on all occasions, and leads the church into unity and Christian fellowship. He can never decide the right and wrong between brethren without looking at the difference from a nonpartisan standpoint. It takes wisdom to do all that must be done to keep a church spiritually strong and growing in the grace of God. No wonder Christ commanded, "Be ye . . . wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."
The dove does little harm. It is peaceful. It is quiet. It is restful and attractive. So while the wicked and vicious are all about us, we must not forget that, as "sheep in the midst of wolves," we need to have the gentleness of the dove. It is as essential as the wisdom of the serpent. Without the harmlessness of the dove, the wisdom of the serpent may do harm. More souls are saved by gentleness than by wisdom. But Christ would have both in the hearts of His people.
What a precious promise is given us in the epistle of James! "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 1:5.
No ministry ever needed wisdom as do we who are preaching this message. This is the last message of mercy to a perishing world. We shall soon see our coming King, and we need to do our work well.
Shall we not seek for wisdom and gentleness, fervent faith and holy zeal?
I.H.E.
