Exploring the Text: When proverbs don’t come true
Sometimes Proverbs can be a challenging book for us to deal with. We read it and it is usually easy to understand what the author is saying and very applicable. Proverbs is full of practical wisdom that we can put into practice in our daily lives. But what about when it doesn’t work out? In Proverbs 2:8, the writer says that anyone who sows injustice will reap calamity, but we have all seen people who are unjust and yet seem to be doing well. They are prospering and profiting from their injustice rather than reaping calamity on themselves. What do we make of it when proverbs don’t come true?
The first thing we need to remember is that proverbs are generally true most of the time. There are always exceptions, but generally speaking, proverbs are true. If you put the book of Proverbs into practice, in general, your life will be better than if you don’t, but we do need to remember that these are general principles for life, not absolute promises from God. The second thing we need to remember is that God is our ultimate source of justice, even if we don’t see it now.
In Luke 16, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In this parable, there is a rich man who does very well in life despite the fact that he apparently does not honor God. There is also a poor man who apparently does his best to honor God and life right, but suffers tremendously. When they both die, the rich man’s fortunes are reversed and he receives torment while Lazarus is comforted. The point of this story is not what the rich man or Lazarus did, it is that while justice may not always seem to be done in the present, God always makes things right in eternity.
Just because proverbs sometimes don’t hold true doesn’t mean that we should ignore their wisdom or believe that God is not fair and just. Sometimes we need to just wait for God’s justice to be done.
Sometimes Proverbs can be a challenging book for us to deal with. We read it and it is usually easy to understand what the author is saying and very applicable. Proverbs is full of practical wisdom that we can put into practice in our daily lives. But what about when it doesn’t work out? In Proverbs 2:8, the writer says that anyone who sows injustice will reap calamity, but we have all seen people who are unjust and yet seem to be doing well. They are prospering and profiting from their injustice rather than reaping calamity on themselves. What do we make of it when proverbs don’t come true?
The first thing we need to remember is that proverbs are generally true most of the time. There are always exceptions, but generally speaking, proverbs are true. If you put the book of Proverbs into practice, in general, your life will be better than if you don’t, but we do need to remember that these are general principles for life, not absolute promises from God. The second thing we need to remember is that God is our ultimate source of justice, even if we don’t see it now.
In Luke 16, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In this parable, there is a rich man who does very well in life despite the fact that he apparently does not honor God. There is also a poor man who apparently does his best to honor God and life right, but suffers tremendously. When they both die, the rich man’s fortunes are reversed and he receives torment while Lazarus is comforted. The point of this story is not what the rich man or Lazarus did, it is that while justice may not always seem to be done in the present, God always makes things right in eternity.
Just because proverbs sometimes don’t hold true doesn’t mean that we should ignore their wisdom or believe that God is not fair and just. Sometimes we need to just wait for God’s justice to be done.