Above All, Get Wisdom

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 4

“Get wisdom, get insight…Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.” (Proverbs 4:5,7) Whenever I teach hermeneutics (how to study the Bible) I receive the most skeptical stares when I state, “Proverbs are not promises.” But they aren’t. The book of Proverbs, where a majority of biblical proverbs are found, is a collection of principles about how life generally works.  Broadly speaking, the theme is “act wisely and life will be good. Act a fool and life will be hard.”

Of course, we all know that while this is generally true, it doesn’t always work that way. Bad stuff happens to the wisest of people and some fools seem to skate through life despite their foolishness. Let me use an extra-biblical example: If you eat right and exercise you will live a long healthy life. If you eat junk and sit on your stump you're going to have bad health and die young. Generally, that’s true. But we all know exceptions. We all know about that fit jogger who ate nothing but broccoli and kale and fell over dead with a heart attack at 42. And we all know that guy who didn’t do anything but eat bacon and watch MASH reruns and lived to a spry 109. They are the exceptions and not the rule. Wisdom is the rule, not the exceptions. It’s how life typically works, but it’s not a guarantee.

Now, there’s the rub. We want a promise. We want a sure thing. We want to know that if I do A then B is the outcome I will get every time. Sorry to break it to you, but that’s not how it works. There is no magic formula. Life is complex. People are complex. There are too many variables and unknowns. Too many mysteries. We aren’t machines that can be programmed to get a specific outcome every time. Are there principles that lead toward a better life? Absolutely. Are there promises in Scripture? Yes. Just don’t mistake one for the other.

This leads me to an important point about our present moment. It seems to me many people are looking for certainty where there is none. Where they are looking for this certainty is in science. Now, before you start calling me a science-denying Luddite, let me categorical state that I am not denying the valuable role and contribution science has played in life. Because of science, I’m writing this under the glow of an LED lamp that is powered by electricity created by a plant miles away from my home, while wearing bifocals prescribed by a doctor after taking medication for acid reflux.

Science is good, but it can’t answer or account for everything in life. Science is observation, experimentation, and explanation. It can spit out facts and numbers and it can make predictions. It can’t account for things like love, beauty, justice, grace, mercy, and faith. It has nothing to say about evil, hatred, and selfishness. Science can give us information, but it can’t explain everything.

What’s my point? Listen to science. Absolutely. Believe that doing exactly what the scientists say will lead to a certain outcome? Now I’ve gotta call a foul. If you’ve been paying any attention at all, you know how wrong science has gotten much of this. That’s not a condemnation of science, nor am I calling into question anyone’s motives. I do believe they’re doing the best they can.

But there is more to this world than mathematical equations and scientific formulas. Science isn’t a magic fairy dust we can sprinkle over life and make it all better. Scientists aren’t priestly figures who can solve all of our problems.

Listen to science. Gather information. But be warned that science doesn’t guarantee a specific outcome. And remember that you aren’t absolved from the responsibility to think and get wisdom for yourself.

Above all else. Get wisdom.