On Shrewdness, a Neglected Biblical Virtue

It is little surprise then that the Lord Jesus commands his disciples not simply to be wise but to “be wise as serpents.” Of course, Haman checked this box in all his craftiness. But he failed to fulfill the second portion of Jesus’ command, the part that makes shrewdness a full-orbed Christian virtue. “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Unfortunately, we all too often choose only one. We’re often wise as serpents yet full of selfish ambition. Or we’re often innocent yet full of naivete and gullibility. But Esther possessed both and so must we. The great Puritan Thomas Watson said it well: “The godly man acts both the politician and
the divine; he retains his ingenuity—yet he does not part with his integrity.”