From September 17th 2011

Winnowing

Winnow (win-oh)

verb (used with object)

1. to free (grain) from the lighter particles of chaff, dirt, etc., especially by throwing into the air and allowing the wind to blow away impurities.
2. to subject to some process of separating or distinguishing; analyze critically; sift.
3. to separate or distinguish valuable from worthless parts.

(via Dictionary.com)

When I was little my parents were very intentional about making me memorize scripture. John 3:16, Romans 3:23, Psalm 100….we would play games during the day to help us remember them and we would recite them as a family before bed. I didn’t realize how valuable this was at the time, but now I am so thankful that my parents discipled me to put away God’s Word.

One of the first passages I remember memorizing was Psalm 100, which goes something like this [warning: Charlotte paraphrase]—The man who stays away from sinful men and their ways and instead goes deep into the word of God and finds his delight there, he will be blessed greatly! But the wicked man will never last: he will perish.

In those days when the men of Israel harvested their grain, they would take the whole pile and throw it up in the air. The grain would fall to the ground, while the lighter (worthless) chaff would blow away. This process is called winnowing. In the Psalm, David uses this idea to compare the two kinds of men: just as the chaff is blown away, leaving the good grain, the wicked will vanish leaving those grounded in the truth of God. 

As I thought about this concept, I realized that it can’t just be given a courteous nod and left inside the Scriptures when we close our Bibles. Followers of Christ must be intentional winnowers in all aspects of our lives. My friend Ruth and I have been discussing wisdom a lot: where to get it, how to get it, how to apply it to our lives. We were sitting on her floor eating granola trying to sift through an issue and figure out what principles we should embrace and how we should live. And I realized that we cannot seek wisdom passively, taking to heart anything that vaguely applies to our situations in life. We must crusade for wisdom. We must fight to find it, poke holes in it, ask for it from those ahead of us, winnow and winnow and winnow until we find what is really true.

And what Ruth and I found as we were winnowing, was that the truth was really uncomfortable. It left us with knots in our stomachs and actions we had to take that made eating glass look preferable. It didn’t make us feel better: it showed us that we were wretches with diseased hearts. It showed us that in order to kill that disease we had to take medicine that would make us feel worse before we could feel better and we had to surgically remove things that we cling tightly to.We had to die. But as that truth fell to the floor and the empty phrases blew away in the wind, there was a comfort in knowing that no matter how scary and painful it is, we have a God who clings tightly to us. We have a God who loved us before we were lovable, who constantly pursues us and knows how to woo our hearts. We have a God who redeems us from the pit, forgives our sins, heals our diseases.

So let me challenge you: inspirational quotes, life-mottos from famous people, lines from popular songs—they blow away in the wind. They have no weight to them, they have no value. When you need something to sustain you, you will find that they have no substance. Winnow them out. Look for the grain that will satisfy your hunger and give you strength for this life. Actively fight for it: it is the only thing that will keep you alive.