Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
It will be a healing for your flesh
and a refreshment for your body.Honor the LORD with your substance
and with the first fruits of all your produce;
then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.Happy are those who find wisdom
and those who get understanding,
for her income is better than silver
and her revenue better than gold.
She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called happy.
Proverbs 3:5-10, 13-18; NRSVue
The call of Jesus to sell all one’s possessions, give to the poor and follow him along (Luke 14:33; 18:18-30) with the call of the prophets to put love of neighbor as oneself as top priority in our love for God rings in our ears and leaves us wondering. “The Law and the Prophets” is shorthand for the Hebrew Bible, what we Christians call the Old Testament. Notice that the wisdom books, though actually a part of that, are not named in this title.
It’s rather easy for me to let the wisdom book Proverbs, gather dust, though in my reading through Scripture, I eventually read that book as well. But if I ignore or downplay the kind of wisdom found there (in contrast to Ecclesiastes and Job, two of my favorites), then I’m not wise. Perhaps we need to balance that with what we read elsewhere, including Jesus’s teaching and life in the gospels along with everything else.
I personally think there is plenty of danger in this. If our interpretation of anything in any Scripture blunts or nullifies Jesus’s call or teaching, we’re not on a good track. That is the challenge. Are we living as followers of Jesus or not? And that not just individually but also along with other followers of Jesus in community.
The question comes down to whether we are honestly endeavoring to follow Jesus completely and just how we are doing that. And other questions like what that means and doesn’t mean. That is ongoing, to be determined from personal discernment with a priority given to the group discernment of the community of faith.
Just a post for some thoughtful reflection.
Jesus community 