“Ask the streets for the answer,” says Street Wisdom[i]. “Come with a question – not too big and not too small – and see what the streets have to say.” Street Wisdom leaders instruct participants to “Slow down. Walk VERY slowly. Notice patterns. Look for synchronicity.”
Street Wisdom is not a religious movement … not openly, at any rate. Street wisdom is basically an exercise in mindfulness. It’s becoming quite a phenomenon in our modern world, and is interesting to think about in light of what the Bible has to say about wisdom in the streets.
Biblical Wisdom
“Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks….” (Proverbs 1:20-21 ESV)
“Does not wisdom call?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud….” (Proverbs 8:1-3 ESV)
The first nine chapters of the book of Proverbs are written from the perspective of the woman, Wisdom, who calls out to those who will listen. She is depicted as being in the streets, beside the way, at the crossroads and beside the gates in front of the town.
Centuries later, the half-brother of our Lord Jesus, James, also wrote about wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5 ESV). James points us to the source of wisdom. He contrasts godly wisdom with jealousy and selfish ambition, which he calls ‘earthly, unspiritual and demonic’ (James 3:13-18).
A mini-retreat
It’s not ‘street wisdom’ … not the secular sort. But in my mostly-monthly mini-retreats, I purposefully slow down for half a day. Sometimes I stay home, and other times I go somewhere beautiful. I usually use the Navigator’s pattern[ii] in which I break the time into three one-hour blocks. This last time, having just been exposed to ‘street wisdom’, I took parts two and three to the streets. Don’t think that I’m boasting about having ‘half-day retreats’. In my line of work, I ought to treat them as priority to keep me on track, and very much appreciate the flexibility to do so.
One key difference between standard ‘Street Wisdom’ and a God-centred retreat is, naturally, the focus. Nevertheless, I found myself journaling on the topic of ‘the question’ that I intended to seek God about later in yesterday’s mini-retreat, though came up with five possibilities rather than a single question. With my rambling thoughts now on paper, my mind was freed up to get on with the business of worship. Using a combination of ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ and Psalm 27, along with pages of journaling, I spent a delightful hour. I sensed a call to repent… again … of perfectionism and procrastination. This pair of vices are a bit of a ‘besetting sin’ for me.
The official ‘Street Wisdom’ people encourage practitioners to look for synchronicity. I prefer to think of it as God’s hand. The second part of the retreat, when I moved to a ‘Sushi and Coffee’ shop, was full of divine touches. The second section of my mini-retreat is usually when I pray for others. As I passed my letterbox on the way out, I picked up a new book about a midwife in Africa which we’re reading in book club[iii] – I like it so much I had ordered a hard copy. It inspired me to pray for friends who work over there. The sushi shop is Chinese run, and I figure that the owners are Christians, based on the verses they display on their chalkboards. That inspired me to pray for the Chinese church. I watched other customers as I sipped my coffee and savoured my sushi. Some of what I observed prompted prayer for others in my life too. I noticed and appreciated people far more through this exercise than I usually would.
The final part of the retreat, the self-focused part, seemed almost like an addendum. My ‘question’, which I had intended to choose from the five possibilities I had drafted just two hours earlier, and which had seemed all-consuming at the time, had now shrunk into its proper perspective. As it turned out, I had one single answer to all five of my ‘possible questions’. Here they are, with the single answer:
1. Where do I start with promised language mentoring?
(Repent of procrastination and perfectionism – I had my first session later that afternoon, and it went well.)
2. I have SO much translation work to do this month – what can I do?!
(Repent of procrastination and perfectionism – do it one phrase at a time)
3. Should I book tickets for planned travel next month and specifically should I visit Shanxi where I lived for many years?
(Repent of procrastination and perfectionism – I went home and booked tickets!)
4. How can I increase my productivity, especially with writing?
(Repent of procrastination and perfectionism – just do it, hence this blog post.)
5. Health and fitness goals too often slide – what can I do?
(Repent of procrastination and perfectionism – it’s a matter of one good choice at a time.)
Look to Wisdom for the Answers
The official ‘Street Wisdom’ movement encourages practitioners to ‘look to the streets for the answers’. They are so near the truth … so very near … and my suggestion is that they are looking for God. Wisdom is calling aloud in the streets, beside the way, at the crossroads and at entrances to our towns. No wonder our fellow human beings are looking there for answers to their questions. May they find God as they search.
Let me close with the words of a truly wise man, C.S. Lewis. The following quote ‘just happened’ to be at the top of the page for this week in my diary … a week in which I was exposed to ‘street wisdom’. There is another example of ‘synchronicity’ in the hands of a sovereign Lord. Lewis said,
“We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito[iv].”
[i] You can read more about the movement here: https://www.streetwisdom.org
[ii] https://www.navigators.org/resource/spend-extended-time-prayer/
[iii] https://velvetashes.com/category/book-club/
[iv] C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer (San Diego: Harvest, 1964), 75.