A book of wisdom

By Tyler Tankersley

Most of are not quite sure what to do with the Book of Proverbs. There doesn't seem to be a common narrative, and it sometimes reads like a collection of fortune-cookie slips that got haphazardly taped together. Many of us have been trained to flip to these wise sayings as a kind of instruction manual for living a good life. It's that easy, right?

But sometimes these pithy statements of wisdom are just downright contradictory. Take Proverbs 26:4-5 for example: "Do not answer fools according to their folly, or you will be a fool yourself. Answer fools according to their folly, or they will be wise in their own eyes." Wait. Which is it? Do not answer fools or be sure to answer fools? These two statements are right next to one another and have the exact opposite message.

And that's the point. Biblical scholars believe that these contradictory statements were written next to one another for the very reason that they are in tension with one another. They are placed next to one another to show that you cannot have a statement of wisdom that is going to fit each and every situation in life. Sometimes you need to just ignore the words of a fool and just move on (friends, please just scroll past an ignorant post on Facebook; it's not worth it), but there are other times when you need to speak against foolishness. And it is that act of discernment that is the true wisdom found in the Book of Proverbs.

That's how the whole Bible functions. Many of us are trained to treat the Bible as a kind of instructional manual for life. Maybe you've heard of the acronym B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth). But the way that scripture functions in our lives is much more nuanced than that. The wisdom found in the Bible is not the wisdom of merely plopping these ancient words into the 21st century; the wisdom found in the Bible is allowing yourself to be shaped by the words so that you will live out the heart of the words in this day and age.

In his new book How the Bible Actually Works, Old Testament scholar Peter Enns says this: "Once we come to see the entire Bible as a book of wisdom, we will come to know a Bible that opens up for us a deeper, more life-affirming, and frankly more captivating journey of faith than the one that is preoccupied with coloring inside the lines."

Wisdom is not found in simply treating the Bible (or the Book of Proverbs) as a simple set of rules and instructions. Wisdom is found in the lifelong process of being crafted into mature disciples who wander alongside the presence of the Holy Spirit. And that process is about more than just reading an instruction manual; it's about entering an epic and compelling story.