Being Wise and Innocent

For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. (Romans 16:19)

See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16 NRSV)

Snakes generally don't have a very good reputation with most people. Snakes are usually the object of great fear and probably receive more unsolicited attacks on themselves just by being seen than most other creatures. Their association with the use of a serpent by Satan to tempt Eve has garnered them far more scorn and hatred and fear than they likely deserve. And while there are certainly a number of snakes that can be dangerous and should be avoided, most snakes are actually much more benign and even shy than we give them credit for.

One of the attributes of snakes that seems to be commendable, according to the words of Jesus Himself, has something to do with wisdom. I cannot speak about this subject with a lot of authority, but I do know that most of the time snakes try to avoid confrontation with people far more than they invite it. Whenever people come around snakes generally try to get out of sight or move away instead of engaging head-on. Of course there are always exceptions such as the Copperhead snake that chased me through the woods years ago. But in most of my experiences with snakes they have almost always tried to avoid trouble when I came around.

In this context I believe there is a connection between the advice that Paul gives in this verse and the advice just previous to it in verse 17. Given the fact that I am sure Paul was very familiar with the words of Jesus quoted above, he may very well have had them in mind when he was writing this passage. What he seems to be saying here is that like snakes, we should have enough wisdom to avoid trouble when people who cause problems are around. Instead of engaging them or confronting them, it is the better part of wisdom to simply turn away from them and move away to a safe distance, leaving them alone while keeping a watchful eye on them.

This becomes even more important when there is the issue of deception involved. To try to engage or confront a person who is skilled in deception is to ask for serious problems. In fact, it is nearly impossible to have a meaningful dialog or relationship with a person who is always using deceptive means to manipulate others. To try to expose them by confronting them with truth usually only causes them to engage in even more subtle deceptions because that is simply how they operate and think. They are expecting to be confronted and are already prepared with many more deceptions for every eventuality. Because their heart is not honest it is impossible for a person living in honesty and truth to relate to them in any meaningful way. Paul says here that the correct way to relate to such ones is to turn away from them while keeping an eye on them from a distance.

In verse 18 Paul says that the simple and unsuspecting are the targets of those who operate deceptively trying to dismember what God is putting together. In verse 19 a similar term is used to describe what Paul desires us to be in relationship to evil – simple or innocent according to the Greek word. It is not our place to expose people who externally sound very appealing and flattering in their communications but with hidden intent to spread discontent and cause division. We need to learn to trust the Holy Spirit to do the exposing in His own way and His own timing. What I see in these passages is that I need to be wise in paying more attention to knowing what is good and spend far less effort in trying to confront those or even understand all the logic and arguments of those who are dealing in deception.

The very nature of deception means that there are endless possibilities for it. This is why it is impossible to overcome deception by explaining it and pointing out what is wrong with it. Those who spend more time trying to uncover all the conspiracies and falsehoods of the enemy are attempting to overcome darkness by trying to explore darkness. It is like the illustration I like to use of how to get darkness out of a room. You do not go into a dark room with a “dark shovel” and begin to shovel it out to expose what is in there. You cannot push it out or flush it out or blow it out or explain it out. The only real effective means to get rid of darkness is to simply introduce light and then let light do what it does best. That may require that we have to get out of the way of the light so that it can better illuminate what is around us. But better yet, we can become reflectors of light to pass it on to others when we focus the mirrors of our hearts on the only real Source of light.

When we choose to spend our time and effort on knowing the Source of all truth instead of trying to figure out what is wrong with error, we will find that our job has suddenly become much more simple. Truth does not need multiple layers of backup theories to prop it up like deceptions do. Truth does not have to fall back on alternative suggestions when the first one fails to stand up to testing and it does not resort to fear and force to prop itself up. Truth is usually very simple and basic in nature, though it is also very complex in that it is tightly interconnected with all other truth in connection with what is real. Truth is simply the explanation of how God created the universe and the principles that govern all of reality that is in perfect harmony with itself.

On the other hand, deception is constantly under revision as it fails to stand the test of exposure to the light of truth. Deception depends on darkness and ignorance or even fear to make it appear credible. Deception uses all sorts of means for communication to create a massive system of false reality that is so familiar to us who have lived in this system all of our lives that we assume that it is all there is to reality. But much truth cannot be discovered by the scientific method which requires that everything has to pass through the filters of our narrow and biased standards and our preconceived assumptions from the past.

The only way we will ever enter fully into the realm of real truth is to realize that it must be accepted and embraced on the basis of the credibility of the only One who knows what truth is because He started it all. Truth is something that comes by revelation as much or more than by deduction. God has certainly equipped our minds with tools whereby we can cooperate with Him in understanding truth more easily. But when we try to divorce the Source of truth from our investigations to discover truth we have just fatally handicapped our efforts to understand reality in its true context.

Being wise in what is good also involves choosing to be innocent or simple in relationship to understanding evil. It is not necessary that we know and understand evil in order to expose it or oppose it. The most effective means to getting rid of darkness is to introduce light. And likewise, the best way to deal with deception and evil is not by exploring it or explaining everything that is wrong about it but to dwell in the truth, saturate our minds and hearts with truth and most importantly, have a vital connection with the Author and Creator of all that is true and real.

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