How should Christians view life? From a Christian perspective, correct? Believers, above all others, should view the world – should see life – through a thoroughly biblical lens. Yet, if you were to ask ten different Christians what it means to think biblically, it would not be surprising to hear eleven different answers. So who is right and who is wrong?
Well, it could be that one is right and the other is wrong. It could be that neither are right and both are wrong. Or it could be that both are right and neither are wrong – even though both may contend the other to be wrong. Perhaps you think I am straying from my point about thinking biblically, and that I am espousing some form of relativism where truth is determined by each individual, so allow me to clarify.
Scripture is patently clear regarding God’s salvific work in the world through the Lord Jesus. In no way do I intend to cast doubt upon the fundamentals of biblical faith – such as are found in the Apostles’ Creed. Nor am I calling into question the rich heritage that we have in our various confessions and creeds. Certainly there are matters that would be deemed as “non-negotiable.” Nevertheless, we must develop a biblical understanding of how we are to live every day life. We must learn wisdom, which is not an easy task.
Wisdom can be simply defined as “skill in living,” to which all of Scripture directs us. However, we have also been given the Wisdom Literature, which consists of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. Each of these books points us to Christ, while also speaking to Christian experience. Job asks the question of why God does what He does, and answers that we are but men. The Song of Solomon speaks to married love, while the Psalms function as the emotions of God’s people and teach us to pray. Proverbs gives us principles of life in nugget form, and Ecclesiastes tells us that life does not make sense no matter how hard we try to figure it out. If we are to be those who live wisely, who live with skill, then we will meditate often in this portion of the Sacred Text, and be rightly challenged by the tensions that we find there. What do I mean?
In Proverbs 26:4 Solomon states, Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him. This seems to be fairly straightforward instruction as to how we are to deal with a fool. But what is it that he says in the very next verse? Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in His own eyes. Wait a second. Didn’t Solomon just say that we are not to answer a fool, and now he is saying we are? Which is it? Do we answer a fool or don’t we? The answer is yes… and yes. It takes discernment to determine when to answer and when not to answer. It takes wisdom.
Solomon is teaching us that life is not fashioned by cookie cutters. It is not about everything being nice and neat, with checklists to help us determine what we are to do in every given situation. No, Solomon takes the checklist, tears it into pieces, and throws it in the trash. We want simple answers and simple solutions. We want things to be black and white, making concessions for some gray. But that is not what the Bible teaches us. Life isn’t black and white and gray. Life is blue, green, yellow, red, purple, crimson, orange and violet. Life is to be lived in color.
Scripture sets forth principles of life, and those principles are the same for all believers. However, the application of those principles may vary widely between Christians. Sometimes you answer a fool according to his folly, and sometimes you do not. Sometimes what you determine for your life or the life of your family, based on biblical principles, may be the exact opposite of what another believer decides to do in his or her family. Both can be right, and both can be wrong for thinking they are really biblical and the other is not. So let us not relegate wisdom to a narrow and minimalist view of the world, but understand that God’s portrait for life has nuance and variation. He does not hesitate to dirty His brush with colors to create just the right shade, and neither should we.