The book of Proverbs is part of what is called “wisdom literature” of the bible which is composed of the books of Psalms, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Together, these books provide wisdom for living well this life. As Proverbs 1 says it exists “for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life; doing what is right and just and fair” (Proverbs 1:1-3). What a privilege we have to get such knowledge from the wisest of men that the world has ever known (besides Jesus), King Solomon. This alone is the goodness of God manifested to us, because we get to learn thousands of generations later from a man who did not have to write down all this wisdom for us. But God caused his heart to write it down because we would still need it. The fact that Proverbs is in the bible tells me that it is not a book to discard, it is part of the full counsel of God. I am not sure how you view the books that belong to the wisdom literature category; I do not know how you read them but I do know that there is a wealth of knowledge in such books that is still living and active, sharper than any double edge sword, that penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). My goal today is to highlight a few truths I have gleaned from the first few chapters of the book of Proverbs.
One of the striking realisations for me this week as I read Proverbs was the stark difference between what God approves versus what men or the society approves. For example, in our societies, we often hear phrases like this “ignorance is bliss”, we also praise people who are “simple”, we are complacent and do not seek knowledge despite its ubiquitousness. We praise results, but we do not ponder on the work that is needed to get to the results. As a matter of fact, in our societies, what is known is the success story never the difficulties that led to the success, no wonder we commonly hear “out of nowhere” to describe a sudden success story. My point is, we are used to not dig deeper and remain content with what we see or hear, we are simple or inexperienced. The bible tells us that it is not a state any child of God should be in ever otherwise we wouldn’t have had books like Proverbs whose goal are explicitly to give “prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young” (Proverbs 1:4). The simple is someone who is without knowledge, it is someone who is comfortable in his state, he or she does not desire to grow, the simple is complacent. I had never thought of the simple in those terms before this week and I realized that God requires his children to be knowledgeable, to learn, to buy from Him to get wisdom and understanding. These seem to be crucial if one wants to live well in this world and know which direction to take. When I look at the creation story, I see in it the character of God that is constantly making something new, constantly working (except for the seventh day when He rested), constantly creating. This tells me that we too, as image bearers cannot afford to tarnish His image by being complacent, we cannot be content with being where we are because there is always more to know and discover. In fact, this is what we will spend the rest of eternity to do! I believe that is what Paul meant when he wrote the following: “The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:2). To flee from the society’s mindset of being content where we are; of only glamourizing the end result leading; of encouraging quick results and instant gratification, one must be humble. Indeed, the first ingredient one must have in order to imitate God in that regard is that he or she must recognize his or her insufficiency. You need to realize that you do not know as you ought to know, you need to realize that you need help, you need to realize that God is above you hence the fear of the Lord being the beginning of wisdom. Everything in life must start with the Lord and end with Him.
Another important truth or word of wisdom from the book of Proverbs is that fools are not who we think they are. Fools are not simply the people that are placed in mental institutions, but as the bible tells us, a fool is anyone who despises knowledge, anyone who scorns wisdom, anyone who says in his heart “there is no God”, anyone who is right in his own eyes. You get the picture? Fools can be you and me, as simple as that. Anytime we do not do what is right, the bible calls us fools. How many times have we not done what was right according to God’s words? This ties into the earlier point I made, a fool is not a humble person therefore he cannot evolve, he cannot grow even if he gives the appearance of growing. God does not want us to rely on ourselves (for obvious reasons), He wants us to rely on Him fully. The famous proverb passage that says “trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6) is a reminder that we ought to be dying to ourselves before God. This means, when you plan for something, run it by God and ensure He has a say because after all “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21). So yes, know your place and do not fall prey of the world’s standards of what good is, rather let the word of God dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom (Colossians 3:16-17).
The last truth or wisdom I gleaned from the first few chapters of the book of Proverbs is that lust is to be killed. In this book, lust finds its expression through adultery. Adultery is simply taking a man or a woman that belongs to another as your own. At its core, lust stems from covetousness. The bible condemns such action and warns us from indulging in such sinful habits. This reminds me of the Ten Commandments “you shall not commit adultery” and “you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbour’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour” (Deuteronomy 6:18; 21). God could not have been any clearer, focus on what you have, focus on what God has given you and instead of looking at what is not yours enjoy what is yours. Our world encourages lust and adultery, you could even argue that such practices are celebrated. I am reminded of a famous TV show whose main character was a female who had an affair with the president of the United States who was a married man. In the show, viewers are made to sympathize with that love story and even cheer for it. This is how sin becomes pervasive in the day to day. Once you acknowledge it on the screen, you are prone to acknowledge it in real life. This is just a reminder that the word of God should be what guides us. May our Father have mercy on us and grant us the will to desire knowledge like gold or silver. Amen.
A Word Aptly Spoken 