Jan
2
Wield wisdom wisely
Filed Under Bible, Christian Living, Proverbs
Think about the non-biblical proverb, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” What is that proverb telling us? If you take it as an ironclad law, then you will conclude that the secret to health, wealth and wisdom is good sleep habits. But surely there is more to it than that–and of course, there is!
Think about a Thanksgiving dinner being prepared, and the main cook says, “Too many cooks spoil the broth,” what does she mean? She means, “Get out of my way and out of my kitchen so I can cook this meal properly.”
However, after the meal, she looks at everyone and says, “Many hands make light work.” She is saying that now is the appropriate time for everyone to get busy clearing the table, washing, drying and putting up the dishes and pots and pans. Before the meal, all that involvement was a hindrance; but now, after the meal, all that involvement is a help.
One more interesting example is in 26:4-5, where we find two statements that seem to be contradictions: Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. Well, which is it? In Every Thought Captive, Dr. Richard Pratt applies to these two verses to the task of defending the Christian faith by saying that sometimes we must reject the philosophical underpinnings of unbelievers in order to confront them with the claims of Christianity. At other times, we should deal with them as though their false beliefs were true in order to point out the absurdity in their thinking.
Both proverbs are true if understood according to their intention and according to the situation. Proverbs are not ironclad laws. Their validity and applicability depends on the right time and the right circumstance. In fact, that is a basic component of true wisdom. In order to read, interpret and apply Proverbs to everyday living, we ought to keep in mind the importance of doing the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reasons–or as the poetry of Proverbs expresses it, To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is! [Proverbs 15:23]
A wise person knows the right time and the right situation and the right approach and the right reasons to do something. The writer of Ecclesiastes expresses this right thing/right time/right way/right reasons thinking in these famous words: To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die…[Ecclesiastes 3:1-8].
Proverbs are not magical words. If you just memorize them and apply them in a wooden or mechanical way, you will not necessarily find good things happening around you:
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools…
Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
Like one who binds the stone in the sling is one who gives honor to a fool.
Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
Like an archer who wounds everyone is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. [26:3, 6-11, emphasis mine]
God is telling us that it takes wisdom to apply wisdom properly. The fool applies a proverb with no regard to how fit it might or might not be for a situation—like a paralyzed leg, thorn bush brandished by a drunkard, hurting the one who wields it as well as the one on the business end of the blow. If we are to wield wisdom wisely, we must 1) understand the text; 2) understand people, and 3) understand the situation.
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