02.13.2022 | FORTUNE COOKIE WISDOM | Wk 6: “A New Romance Is Coming Soon”
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Breaking Ground
What is the funniest/worst pick-up line you’ve heard/that you know?
The Dig
This week, we continue our series Fortune Cookie Wisdom by exploring the role of physicality & sexuality in the conversation of biblical wisdom.
The placement of Song of Solomon in the Wisdom literature is important to reflect upon. As Western & post-Enlightenment people, it’s easy to consider existential books like Proverbs, Job, & Ecclesiastes to be wisdom books, while we are often surprised that tradition considers this poetry about love, romance, & sex to belong to the same category of Wisdom Literature. However, it’s placement here reminds us that the biblical worldview:
- Affirms the original & inherent goodness of our physicality/sexuality when used healthily & doesn’t separate it from spirituality/wisdom.
- That biblical wisdom celebrates the importance of our physical world, but challenges us to reckon with how we use our bodies within it.
With that in mind, read some excerpts from the Song of Solomon. If you need guidance, consider Song of Solomon 1:2-4, 4:1-8, 5:10-16, & 8:6-7.
Why do you think that wisdom tradition includes this celebration & affirmation of our human physical & sexual nature alongside “headier” or more existential pieces of Wisdom Literature (like Proverbs, Job, & Ecclesiastes)?
What happens when we exclude an affirmation of our human physicality & sexuality from our understanding of wisdom, religion, & spirituality? How does that impact how people treat these aspects of our lives & world?
Considering that the Wisdom books are meant to be read in conversation with each other, what does Song of Solomon add to the wisdom conversation & seek to balance out in the multifaceted vision of Wisdom that this literature offers? How might that inform how we think about & engage with physicality & sexuality in our daily lives?
Reflect on your own experiences with wisdom, spirituality, physicality, & sex.
In your experience with religion, has spirituality & wisdom been taught as including an affirmation/positive vision of human physicality & sexuality OR was spirituality only associated with non-physical parts of your humanity (or even taught as antagonistic to spirituality/wisdom)? How did what you were taught about these areas of your humanity impact your engagement with them?
Where do you currently struggle to find wisdom in your engagement of physicality & sexuality? Why do you think that is?
How might this holistic, multifaceted vision of wisdom invite you into a healthier embrace of these parts of your humanity? What might the application of this vision look like in your daily life over this next season?
Getting Out of the Hole
This week, Pastor Scott challenged all of us to reflect on our relationship with sex & how wisdom might speak into it.
- Take time this week to pray about & reflect on how sex fits into your life in this stage of life.
- Do you feel like this part of your life is currently healthy & positive for yourself & others?
- Is there any part of it where you are wrestling with shame or guilt?
- Where do you feel like God is calling you to grow in this part of your life over the next season?
- Pray over these prompts, seek out Scripture on it, & consider talking about how you’ve answered these prompts with a wise person that you’re in relationship with.
- We know that a lot of people have bagge with this topic. So, if you feel like it would help, don’t hesitate to reach out to Pastor Scott or Pastor Mike this week to process through it (scott@element3.org / mike@element3.org).
Journal & reflect on how God speaks to you through Sunday’s panel. Share your experience with your growth group next week!
Additional Resources*
The Wisdom Books by Robert Alter
The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job, & Ecclesiastes by Derek Kidner
TheBibleProject.com
Coming Up This Week:*
Sunday, February 20th: Join us next Sunday for week 7 of our new series Fortune Cookie Wisdom, where we will be diving into the Book of Ecclesiastes & exploring how wisdom speaks into our understanding of time, death, & meaning!
* Please see mye3.org for details.