God's Wisdom for Navigating Life

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God's Wisdom for Navigating Life Page 1

by Timothy Keller




  ALSO BY THE AUTHOR

  The Reason for God

  The Prodigal God

  Counterfeit Gods

  Generous Justice

  Jesus the King

  The Meaning of Marriage

  Center Church

  Every Good Endeavor

  Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering

  Encounters with Jesus

  Prayer

  Preaching

  The Songs of Jesus

  Making Sense of God

  Hidden Christmas

  VIKING

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  375 Hudson Street

  New York, New York 10014

  penguin.com

  Copyright © 2017 by Timothy Keller and Kathy Keller

  Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

  Scripture from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblic, Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

  ISBN 9780735222090 (hardcover)

  ISBN 9780735222106 (e-book)

  Version_1

  To Bruce and Missy Terrell

  Wise leaders and friends

  whose wisdom and love have guided both us

  and Redeemer Presbyterian Church for many years.

  CONTENTS

  ALSO BY THE AUTHOR

  TITLE PAGE

  COPYRIGHT

  DEDICATION

  INTRODUCTION

  KNOWING WISDOM: What Is Wisdom? January 1

  January 2

  January 3

  January 4

  January 5

  January 6

  KNOWING WISDOM: What Is Foolishness? January 7

  January 8

  January 9

  January 10

  January 11

  January 12

  January 13

  January 14

  January 15

  January 16

  KNOWING WISDOM: How Do We Become Wise? January 17

  January 18

  January 19

  January 20

  January 21

  January 22

  January 23

  January 24

  January 25

  January 26

  January 27

  January 28

  KNOWING WISDOM: The Case for Wisdom January 29

  January 30

  January 31

  February 1

  February 2

  February 3

  February 4

  February 5

  February 6

  February 7

  KNOWING GOD: The Fear of the Lord February 8

  February 9

  February 10

  February 11

  February 12

  February 13

  February 14

  February 15

  February 16

  February 17

  February 18

  February 19

  February 20

  February 21

  February 22

  February 23

  February 24

  KNOWING GOD: God’s Order Perceived February 25

  February 26

  February 27

  February 28

  March 1

  March 2

  KNOWING GOD: God’s Order Disrupted March 3

  March 4

  March 5

  March 6

  March 7

  March 8

  March 9

  March 10

  March 11

  March 12

  KNOWING GOD: God’s Order Hidden March 13

  March 14

  March 15

  March 16

  March 17

  March 18

  March 19

  March 20

  March 21

  March 22

  March 23

  KNOWING THE HEART: Understanding the Heart March 24

  March 25

  March 26

  March 27

  March 28

  March 29

  March 30

  March 31

  April 1

  April 2

  KNOWING THE HEART: Reordering Desires April 3

  April 4

  April 5

  April 6

  April 7

  April 8

  April 9

  KNOWING THE HEART: Understanding Temptation April 10

  April 11

  April 12

  April 13

  KNOWING THE HEART: Understanding Emotion April 14

  April 15

  April 16

  April 17

  April 18

  April 19

  April 20

  April 21

  April 22

  April 23

  April 24

  April 25

  April 26

  April 27

  THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS: Anger April 28

  April 29

  April 30

  May 1

  May 2

  May 3

  May 4

  May 5

  THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS: Envy May 6

  May 7

  May 8

  THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS: Pride May 9

  May 10

  May 11

  May 12

  May 13

  May 14

  May 15

  May 16

  May 17

  May 18

  May 19

  May 20

  May 21

  May 22

  THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS: Gluttony May 23

  May 24

  May 25

  THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS: Sloth May 26

  May 27

  May 28

  May 29

  May 30

  May 31

  June 1

  June 2

  THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS: Greed June 3

  June 4

  June 5

  THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS: Lust June 6

  June 7

  June 8

  June 9

  June 10

  June 11

  June 12

  KNOWING OTHERS: Friendship June 13


  June 14

  June 15

  June 16

  June 17

  June 18

  KNOWING OTHERS: Words June 19

  June 20

  June 21

  June 22

  June 23

  June 24

  June 25

  June 26

  June 27

  June 28

  June 29

  June 30

  July 1

  July 2

  July 3

  July 4

  July 5

  July 6

  July 7

  July 8

  July 9

  July 10

  July 11

  July 12

  KNOWING OTHERS: Gossip July 13

  July 14

  July 15

  KNOWING OTHERS: Listening July 16

  July 17

  July 18

  July 19

  July 20

  July 21

  July 22

  July 23

  July 24

  KNOWING OTHERS: Conflicts July 25

  July 26

  July 27

  July 28

  July 29

  July 30

  July 31

  August 1

  August 2

  August 3

  August 4

  August 5

  August 6

  August 7

  August 8

  August 9

  August 10

  KNOWING THE TIMES AND SEASONS: Guidance, Planning, and Decision Making August 11

  August 12

  August 13

  August 14

  August 15

  August 16

  August 17

  KNOWING THE TIMES AND SEASONS: Insights for Our Age August 18

  August 19

  August 20

  August 21

  August 22

  August 23

  August 24

  August 25

  August 26

  August 27

  August 28

  August 29

  August 30

  August 31

  September 1

  September 2

  September 3

  KNOWING THE SPHERES: Marriage September 4

  September 5

  September 6

  September 7

  September 8

  September 9

  September 10

  September 11

  September 12

  September 13

  September 14

  September 15

  September 16

  September 17

  September 18

  September 19

  September 20

  September 21

  September 22

  September 23

  KNOWING THE SPHERES: Sex September 24

  September 25

  September 26

  September 27

  September 28

  KNOWING THE SPHERES: Parenting September 29

  September 30

  October 1

  October 2

  October 3

  October 4

  October 5

  October 6

  October 7

  October 8

  October 9

  October 10

  October 11

  October 12

  October 13

  October 14

  KNOWING THE SPHERES: Money and Work October 15

  October 16

  October 17

  October 18

  October 19

  October 20

  October 21

  October 22

  October 23

  October 24

  October 25

  October 26

  October 27

  October 28

  October 29

  October 30

  October 31

  November 1

  November 2

  November 3

  November 4

  November 5

  November 6

  November 7

  KNOWING THE SPHERES: Power November 8

  November 9

  November 10

  November 11

  November 12

  November 13

  November 14

  November 15

  November 16

  November 17

  November 18

  November 19

  November 20

  November 21

  November 22

  November 23

  KNOWING THE SPHERES: Justice November 24

  November 25

  November 26

  November 27

  November 28

  November 29

  November 30

  December 1

  December 2

  December 3

  December 4

  December 5

  December 6

  December 7

  December 8

  December 9

  December 10

  December 11

  December 12

  December 13

  December 14

  KNOWING JESUS, THE TRUE WISDOM OF GOD December 15

  December 16

  December 17

  December 18

  December 19

  December 20

  December 21

  December 22

  December 23

  December 24

  December 25

  December 26

  December 27

  December 28

  December 29

  December 30

  December 31

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  NOTES

  SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

  REDEEMER

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  INTRODUCTION

  There may be readers picking up this book who profited from our earlier yearlong devotional book, The Songs of Jesus. In that case especially, it is helpful to reflect on the differences between Psalms and Proverbs. The Psalms are filled with expressions of emotion, of pain, joy, and praise. They show us how to process our experiences before God. Proverbs is a very different book. It calls us to study, to think, to learn the practical discipline of centering all our thoughts and actions on God. Indeed, one of the main messages of Proverbs is—you’ve never really thought enough about anything. Psalms is about how to throw ourselves fully upon God in faith. Proverbs is about how, having trusted God, we should then live that faith out. If the Bible were a medicine cabinet, Psalms would be the ointment put on inflamed skin to calm and heal it. Proverbs would be more like smelling salts to startle you into alertness. Here are a few pointers for studying the book of Proverbs with profit.

  Proverbs as Poetry

  Proverbs is not a s
et of “simple steps to a happy life” for quick consumption. A proverb is a poetic art form that instills wisdom in you as you wrestle with it. As English readers we cannot receive the full force of the original, and yet we can still learn enough about the features of Hebrew poetry to discern layers of meaning that we would otherwise miss. Perhaps the most fundamental mark of Hebrew poetry is parallelism. Two phrases, clauses, or sentences are brought into close connection with each other so that they modify and expand on each other. The second may magnify and extend the thought of the first, or it may instead offer a counterpoint that limits and softens the first idea.

  In each case the two thoughts mutually clarify each other, sharpening our understanding. So Proverbs 13:6 says, “Righteousness guards the person of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.” The first clause helps us understand “wickedness” in the second clause more specifically as a lack of integrity. Because of parallelism, the words “wicked” and “righteous” and “wise” and “foolish,” which show up constantly and (seemingly) repetitiously, actually mean somewhat different things in each proverb. We miss much of the meaning of a proverb unless we compare the clauses very closely and watch for the interplay between words.

  Another prominent feature of Hebrew poetry, as in all poetry, is the importance of vivid images. A beautiful but foolish woman is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout (Proverbs 11:22); a lazy employee is like vinegar to the teeth (Proverbs 10:26). Images and metaphors are always invitations to think out the many ways that “this is like that.” A thoughtful reader can list five, then ten, then more ways that the image explains the principle.

  Proverbs as Puzzle

  Goethe once said of languages that “whoever know only one, knows none,” and that is likely true, but it is even more true of proverbs.1 If one proverb says, “The morally good always have a good life,” and later another says, “Sometimes the morally good suffer,” we modern readers think we’ve found a contradiction. That’s because we think of proverbs either as individual stand-alone promises or commands. But usually they are neither. Each is a description of some aspect of how life works. One proverb on marriage, taken all by itself, seems to apply to every instance. A later proverb, however, reveals that there are some marriage situations in which a different practice is required. Only taken and fitted together, with each one modifying the others as the parallel clauses do, do the proverbs yield a full, multidimensional picture of a particular topic.

  Proverbs, then, give up their meaning only cumulatively. No one saying gives you the whole picture. Proverbs 29:19 says that servants simply can’t understand the reason they should do things, so you just have to be very strict with them. This seems to be a sweeping statement about their capabilities, but Proverbs 17:2 tells us that a wise servant can end up being better than a family member. Only when the two are placed together can we see that 29:19 is not talking about all servants and employees but rather about those with an unresponsive, sullen attitude.2

 

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