Pastor's Corner
January 2025
Inspired: Wisdom Stories
The Apostle James tells us that if we lack wisdom, then we need only ask God for it. Yet, have ever taken a moment to wonder exactly what we are asking for when we ask for wisdom? Certainly, we are asking for more than just information, more than just a collection of facts. All of us can obtain information, especially if we have cell phones. Information is right there at our fingertips. So, what are we asking for when we are asking for wisdom? The writer, Rachel Evans, in her book, Inspired, invites us to consider the place of wisdom, not only in Scripture, but in our lives as well.
There are several books of the Bible that are called wisdom literature. These include Proverbs, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and the book of Job. Wisdom literature highlights the complexities of life in order to try and make sense of it in a predictable way. For example, there are places in Scripture that teaches us that if we do what is good and right, then God will bless and reward us. If we choose to do what is evil and wrong, then God will punish or curse us. This is a predictable way of looking at life that we pass down from generation to generation. Think about how we raise our children on a steady diet of rewards and punishments. The problem is that, as modern readers, we approach wisdom literature, and most of the rest of the Bible, as having a single perspective that applies to all people, in all times, and in all circumstances. While we should accept that the Bible can speak to all of us, we should not think that the Bible intends to gloss over the complexities of life. Evans highlights this as she points us to the book of Job.
As I indicated above, the widely held wisdom in Job’s day was that God rewards the good and punishes the wicked. Job experiences devastation upon devastation in his life causing his friends to wonder what great sin he must have committed to be cursed by God. As the reader, we know, thanks to chapter one, that Job hasn’t committed some great sin. Job knows that he hasn’t committed some great sin. Defying the wisdom of the day, Job protests his innocence and seeks an answer from God to explain why Job is suffering so much. Job’s story invites us to acknowledge the complexities of life and to admit that one answer doesn’t cover every question. It is here that we begin to realize what we are seeking when we ask God for wisdom.
Growing up in the church, Evans was taught that the Bible was simply an “owner’s manual for life” with a “single prescriptive focus”. Through reflection and experiencing the diversity of actual life, Evans came to understand that “the Bible isn’t an answer book. It’s not even a book, really,” she writes. “Rather, it’s a diverse library of ancient texts, spanning multiple centuries, genres, and cultures, authored by a host of different authors coming from a variety of different perspectives.” She goes on to say that, in the Bible, “God gave us a cacophony of voices and perspectives, all in conversation with one another, representing the breadth and depth of the human experience in all its complexities and contradictions.”
When we seek wisdom from God, we are acknowledging the ups and downs, twist and turns of life. We are admitting that one answer doesn’t cover every question. It is for that reason that we need to walk with God in humility and faithfulness, listening attentively to the Spirit’s leading as we walk together step by step. This is wisdom for which we are seeking.
From the Pastor.....
