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Wisely Handling the Bible’s Wise Sayings
Every culture seems to have its own unique, collected wisdom, pithy insights of the wise. Oftentimes, these tidbits of wisdom are preserved in the form of the proverb. We have proverbial sayings in American culture. I am thinking of sayings …Read More
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Wisdom and Knowledge
In college, I majored in philosophy. On the very first day of the very first course that I took in philosophy, the professor wrote the word philosophy on the chalkboard, then broke it down to show its etymological origin. The …Read More
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Sober Minded
All of us, I presume, change our minds from time to time. We know that we err, and we know that we grow in grace. At least part of that growth happens when we no longer believe the errors we …Read More
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The Christian Club
Many American churches are in a mess. Theologically they are indifferent, confused, or dangerously wrong. Liturgically they are the captives of superficial fads. Morally they live lives indistinguishable from the world. They often have a lot of people, money, and …Read More
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Train Up a Child
Many years ago, someone pointed out that the book of Proverbs has 31 chapters, making it ideal for a month-long Bible reading project. So I read one chapter a day for a month, and the experience was so rewarding I …Read More
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He Gave Us Songs
He was at least an insightful man, if not a wise man, who first said, “I care not who writes a nation’s laws, as long as I write the nation’s songs.” He understood that what shapes our lives …Read More
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Ecclesiastes
“Ecclesiastes? Ugh — that’s just doom and gloom! I’d rather study some other Bible book.” Now wait a moment. I know it’s not proper to begin by telling your reader that he’s wrong — but in this case …Read More
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The Proverbs
Wisdom has become something of an industry in the United States. Talk radio hosts and syndicated columnists develop devoted followers of advice-seekers. Professional consultants help companies of all sizes solve thorny problems. Humanity’s long quest for the wisdom of …Read More
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The Psalms
Probably more commentaries, study guides, and helps have been published on the book of Psalms than on any other book of the Bible. It is not my purpose here to supplant those other works. Rather, I want to offer some …Read More
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Ancient Wisdom for the Future
Although attributed in error, Mark Twain is often quoted as saying, “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be …Read More
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Thanks Be to God
In December 2008, I turned seventy-three. Invited by Tabletalk to address younger generations “on matters pertinent to the faith,” I thought of Psalm 71, the prayer of an elderly man. Says verse 18: “So even to old age and gray …Read More
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The Best-Laid Plans
To suggest that wisdom is always balanced seems to me to be a bit, well, unbalanced. Whoever first uttered the words of wisdom, “moderation in all things,” should, I believe, have healed himself. All things? Isn’t that a bit …Read More
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The More Things Change
It was a wise man who first noted that there is nothing new under the sun. Sadly, Solomon seemed to sigh his way through this observation, wistfully longing for something new. We, if we were wise, would rejoice in this …Read More
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The Wisdom of Listening
Wise men are difficult to find. We must go to great lengths - we must search high and low in order to find a man who is truly wise. I grieve for my children and my children’s children as …Read More
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Wisdom and Redemption
How strange Joseph’s behavior towards his brothers appears to us today! Why does he not simply welcome his family as friends, tell them all is forgiven, and send for his father and his brother Benjamin? Why does Joseph …Read More
