This week the blog is sponsored by Zondervan Academic. Their excellent ZECOT commentary series has just expanded to include a volume on Proverbs written by Reformed scholar Chris Ansberry. You can buy it now!

Let’s be honest: we’re pragmatic people. Things are valuable insofar as they are useful. And knowledge is valuable insofar as it is useful. As Scripture, the book of Proverbs is useful (2 Tim 3:16). Its diverse materials are designed to cultivate wisdom and virtue, specifically intellectual virtue (Prov 1:2, 4), moral virtue (Prov 1:3b), and practical virtue (Prov 1:3a). In fact, the arrangement of the book mirrors the arrangement of our educational curricula. Off the back of its syllabus (Prov 1:2–7) and an extended introduction intended to move readers to embrace wisdom (Prov 1:8–9:18), the book eases us into a course on elementary wisdom (Prov 10:1–15:33) before ushering us into courses on intermediate wisdom (Prov 16:1–22:16), vocational wisdom (Prov 22:17–24:34), advanced wisdom (Prov 25:1–29:27), and applied wisdom (Prov 30–31). To state the obvious, Proverbs seeks to cultivate wisdom and virtue in its readers. That’s useful. We’re left with a pragmatic question: how? How does Proverbs cultivate wisdom and virtue in its readers?

Put simply, Proverbs forms readers through its poetic forms. These poetic forms are diverse; and they form us in diverse ways. The poetic forms of Proverbs traffic in distinct pedagogical strategies, such as rebuke (Prov 1:20–33), fearmongering (Prov 6:20–35), seduction (Prov 7:1–27), wooing (Prov 8:1–36), and carrot-and-stick (Prov 22:17–24:22). Among the poetic forms in the book, the pedagogical potency and formational potential of the sayings in chapters 10:1–22:16 and 25:1–29:27 are often overlooked. The value of these sayings tends to be limited to the promises or principles that they offer. More specifically, their usefulness tends to be restricted to the advice that they offer on various matters, ranging from parenting and speech to business ethics and interpersonal relationships. But the pithy sayings in Proverbs are more useful than this. On one level, these sayings may be read as propositional statements, describing the way the world is or the way the world ought to be. On a more fundamental level, these sayings are purveyors of perspectival wisdom. They do not describe the way world is or the way that world ought to be per se. They operate under moral judgments and ethical evaluations (e.g., wise and foolish, righteous and wicked). Each saying offers a way of seeing people, actions, or situations. That is, each saying provides a way of seeing-as.

Proverbs seeks to cultivate wisdom and virtue in its readers. That’s useful. We’re left with a pragmatic question: how? How does Proverbs cultivate wisdom and virtue in its readers?Share

If the sayings in Proverbs provide perspectival wisdom, then they offer ways of seeing that train our vision. They train our vision in at least two ways. First, the sayings and character types of Proverbs create habits of sight. By focusing on common characters, the sayings not only train us to see certain attitudes and actions, but also how to evaluate these attitudes and actions. In basic terms, they teach us to see and evaluate people and actions as wise/righteous or foolish/wicked. They provide a perspectival lens, shaping our sight. 

Second, the sayings and character types of Proverbs afford practice in forming our sight. Consistent attention to specific character types, attitudes, and actions not only molds our vision; it also produces the conditions for practice. Generic sayings are the primary means by which Proverbs gives us practice. Generic sayings do not name a specific character type. Instead, they focus on an undefined person or an ambiguous phenomenon. In so doing, they invite us to use the qualitative reflections of the book to name that person or define that phenomenon. And they provide us with certain clues for this task. Proverbs 14:12 is a representative example.

There is this: a way that is straight before a person;but its end, ways to death.

The initial line foregrounds an apparent reality for reflection: “a way that is straight before a person.” Elsewhere in Proverbs, straight ways are good ways. They are established by the Lord (Prov 3:6), paved by righteousness (Prov 11:5), and embodied by a person of understanding (Prov 15:21). The sayings of Proverbs have trained our vision to perceive a way that is straight as a way that is good, as a way that stands in opposition to the crooked paths of the wicked. But the second line of Proverbs 14:12 bursts the bubble of this reading: the end of this straight way is “ways to death.” This end alerts us to the “false lead” of the initial line invites us to circle back and re-read the saying. The straight way before a person is not so straight after all; rather it is a way that seems straight to a person. The person is the aphorism is not named; its generic subject and generic situation afford the reader practice and correction, shaping their sight and perception.

Together with generic sayings, some well-known sayings in Proverbs are designed to train the reader’s sight. Take, for example, Proverbs 22:6:

Train a youth according to his way,even when he becomes old he will not depart from it.

The initial line may be read in at least three ways. First, it may be interpreted as an ironic warning against teaching a child in accord with their juvenile taste: “Train a youth in the way that he wants.” Second, the line may be rendered as a directive to teach a child in a manner appropriate to their aptitude or age, that is, “Train a youth in a way that is suitable for him.” Alternatively, third, the line may be read as a command to instruct a child in a moral way of life, that is, “Train a youth in the right way – the way he ought to go.” The terse line is patient with each of these readings. If Proverbs’ sayings are read as purveyors of perspectival wisdom rather than as propositions, then we need not pick one of the three options. Each provides us with a different way of seeing. That is, each forms our moral vision, nurturing the imagination and sharpening the powers of discernment.   

The same is true of the well-known saying in Proverbs 27:17:

Iron sharpens iron,and a person sharpens the face of his neighbor.

Is the image of iron sharpening iron positive or negative? It depends how you see things. Many interpret the image positively. It captures the way in which a person sharpens the character or wits of another. But others interpret the image negatively. The negative construal emerges from the process of iron smithing in the ancient world. This process required a hammer, which was used to pound a soft, heated piece of iron into a weapon or vessel. This violent act of smithing is applied to interpersonal relations in the second line through the expression “sharpens the face.” Although the expression is not found elsewhere in the Old Testament, it is comparable to descriptions of sharp eyes, a sharp lip, or a sharp tongue – parts of the face that attack others. When the smithing process in the initial line is applied to interpersonal relations in the second, it appears that just as a smith pounds soft iron into a sharp instrument for battle, so also a person may pound one’s neighbor, causing him to attack. The pregnant image in Proverbs 27:17 is patient with different readings. These readings operate under different perspectives. They offer different ways of seeing. 

How we see things is significant in the life of Christian discipleship. Scripture does not merely provide Christians with propositional truths. It provides Christians with perspective, with a way of seeing life and the world. This is the case with the pithy sayings in Proverbs. They train our sight. They hone our evaluations. They rearrange our mental furniture. They renew our minds. And in so doing, they cultivate wisdom and virtue.

Buy your copy of this new commentary on Proverbs at Amazon, Logos, or wherever else good books are sold.

If you’re into Kindle deals, remember that I’ve got an X account for that: @challiesdeals. Also by way of reminder, much of my material gets translated into Spanish and you can find that here.

Today’s Kindle deals include some good books: Serving Without Sinking, Write It On Their Hearts, and more.

(Yesterday on the blog: Marriage Happy, Marriage Holy)

I have been intrigued by the recent revival of interest in Stoicism. That is why I was glad to see this article by Jonathan Threlfall.

Samuel James offers some interesting theses on Instagram. For example: “Of all the major social media apps of the last 20 years, Instagram is the most distinctly feminine. Compared to its peers, IG is a beautiful app. It feels. It has a humane and relational texture that other apps, especially Twitter and Facebook, lack. Several things about IG create this, chief among them the app’s reliance on images of people as its main form of communication.”

That is a common question and in this video it gets a good answer.

“Although the lack of workers for the harvest has been a persistent problem since the time of Christ, nowadays there is a new and noticeable trend in missions: those who go don’t necessarily stay.”

I know I recently shared a different theologian’s answer to this question, but considering how often I am asked it, I thought it would not hurt to double up.

Yeah, maybe you should. Maybe we all should.

When I look at your generation, I love the ambition I see, but want to encourage you to pursue the traits that will harness that ambition to the best and highest purposes.

As the social cost of claiming to be a Christian increases, the percentage of nominal Christians decreases.
—D.A. Carson

God’s purpose in marriage is not to make us happy but to make us holy. Or so we have all been told. The truth is more complicated, of course, and I’m quite certain God means for marriage to cover both. The old Anglican liturgy says marriage “was ordained for the mutual society, help, and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity.” I like that—fellowship, help, and comfort. Those words seem to cover it all.

When we think of the ways that marriage can make us holy, we probably imagine scenarios that are peaceful and proactive. We imagine sitting side by side to study God’s Word together or gathering our family around the dinner table to read, pray, and sing. Perhaps we imagine our spouse bringing a gentle word of rebuke to address a sin we haven’t yet spotted or, if spotted, haven’t yet acknowledged and dealt with. And hopefully, all of these are part of a Christian marriage! Yet what we probably don’t imagine is the more difficult ways that marriage will provide the opportunities to become holy.

Husband, you will have the opportunity to grow in holiness as your wife behaves immaturely, as she responds with outrage instead of grace or with anger instead of patience. You will witness her act unfairly toward you and ungraciously toward your children. She may go through stretches of time when she grows complacent about sanctification and decides to let sin just run its course in parts of her life. And all the while you will need to determine how you will respond, how you will continue to bear with her flaws, how you will meet sin with love. You will need to determine what it looks like in these moments to love your wife like Christ loves his church.

Wife, you will have the opportunity to grow in holiness as your husband criticizes you unjustly or pesters you to embrace a standard that is his but not God’s. He will at times lead you poorly and at times lead your family selfishly. He will sometimes want to be intimate with you in moments when it is unfair to even ask and then sulk when you decline. He will sometimes ask you to submit when submission is inadvisable or unfair. He will go through stretches when he is bad-tempered and thoughtless and abrasive. And you will need to consider how you will love him in these times, how you will continue to remain sweet when he is sour. You will need to determine what it looks like in these moments to love him without enabling him and to honor him without coddling his sin.

And besides your spouse’s sins, there are also your spouses’s weaknesses—areas that are not sinful but are still difficult and frustrating. You will grow in holiness by tolerating quirks and habits and by not allowing every frustration to boil to the surface. And then there are your spouse’s afflictions—illnesses, infirmities, and frailties. More sanctification may come by being a caregiver to your spouse than ever came by being a lover. Each of them represents a means through which you will be challenged to be holy or unholy, sanctified or unsanctified, to battle sin or foster evil.

I have observed that the couples who endure with joy are most often the couples who embrace one another as a complex bundle of strengths and weaknesses, helps and hurts, joys and sorrows, and who set their expectations for marriage accordingly. They are each more concerned with their own holiness than their spouse’s, each quicker to embrace an opportunity to overlook a sin than to confront one, each eager to forgive in the ways they’ve been forgiven by God. They are not dismayed when their spouse disappoints them or sins against them but are challenged to love all the more. They do not retaliate when sinned against but extend mercy, grace, and love.

Marriage does, indeed, give us many opportunities to peacefully and proactively grow in holiness. But being the kind of people we are, it also gives us opportunities to love despite being treated poorly, to care despite being treated unfairly, and to be devoted despite receiving little in return. And it is especially in moments and situations like these that God shapes us, molds us, and makes us more like him. It is especially in moments and situations like these that we put on the greatest of all attributes: the love of God.

For another take on this subject, see my previous article The Great Challenge of Every Marriage

I probably don’t say it often enough, so I’ll say it now: Thanks for reading my site/newsletter. It means a lot that you’d do so!

Today’s Kindle deals include a book for parents who want guidance on raising their kids in this world. There is also a book for leaders and a good one from Tim Keller.

“Rather than trying to reinterpret the Bible’s prohibitions, many who affirm same-sex marriage acknowledge that the New Testament does prohibit same-sex sex. But, they argue, Christians can nonetheless embrace same-sex marriage because the trajectory from the Old Testament to the New is one that (if continued) ends in validating same-sex marriage.” Rebecca McLaughlin responds to this.

“Did Jesus claim to be God? Christians say yes, but skeptics argue Jesus never claimed this. Who did Jesus believe he was? What claims did he make about his identity? Can we make a definitive case that Jesus believed he was God? I think we can.”

Alistair Begg’s new advent devotional, Let Earth Receive Her King features a daily question to aid personal reflection and a carol or hymn to enjoy meditating upon Jesus. A free advent preaching guide for pastors corresponding to the book is available so churches can go through the devotional together. Get 25% off with code RECEIVE. (Sponsored)

This is always a question and debate within the church and I appreciate Matt Smethurt’s response to it.

Trevin Wax points out, rightly, that you can’t life-hack your way into holiness. “No foolproof formula exists. Many believers striving to overcome persistent sins often feel their Bible reading or prayer doesn’t bring victory. They seek spiritual nourishment but still feel stuck in their struggles.”

Mitch Chase discusses the biblical themes of sight and blindness.

“It might surprise you to know that many pastors who have generous smiles on their faces each Sunday are, deep down, very disheartened.” Indeed, they are.

Serve, serve, and serve some more. Act in love even when you don’t feel loved, act with grace even if you don’t feel particularly gracious. 

God tries us that we may rise; Satan tries us that we may fall. God puts an occasion in our way to be a stepping stone up; Satan puts an occasion in our way to be a stumbling block, and cause us to fall.
—F.B. Meyer

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you on this fine day.

Today’s Kindle deals include some very good resources for those who are learning Christian doctrine or who want to grow in their knowledge of it.

(Yesterday on the blog: Doctor Google, Influencer Moms, and the Local Church)

Randy Alcorn: “Our enemy the devil prowls around looking for someone to devour, and the landscape is littered with people he has destroyed. Obviously, he can do more damage to God’s kingdom by taking on Christians (once set on a path of destruction, drug addicts don’t need as much attention from him), more damage still by taking on Christians of influence and notoriety, and the most damage of all by taking down Christians who are doing strategic work that is close to God’s heart.”

Douglas tells how he is aging into childhood. You’ll have to read the article to see what he means by that.

Follow the story of God’s Messiah from Genesis to Revelation with Alistair Begg’s new advent devotional. The 24 daily readings span the whole of Scripture to celebrate Christmas and Christ’s return. Get 25% off with code RECEIVE. (Sponsored)

I have often recommended the same “plus one” approach to church that Kevin DeYoung describes here.

Casey writes about different forms of criticism and says “often criticism comes from personal disagreement. The leader, by definition, occupies a position that necessitates decision-making. Decisions impact other people. Rarely do the people impacted universally agree with the decisions a leader makes.”

Meanwhile, Karen Hodge describes some of the pitfalls that can come with leadership in a women’s ministry.

Crystal Kershaw reflects on the boy who shared his lunch with Jesus and 5,000 others.

When all the voices finally sing together, one hears, even feels, the truth and goodness of our gendered world. Surely this will be an enduring display of our maleness and femaleness as we worship the Lamb in heaven.

Worship is designed to remind you that in the center of all things is a glorious and gracious king, and this king is not you.
—Paul Tripp