"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."—Proverbs 3:5, 6
I had never intentionally memorized this specific Bible passage from the book of Proverbs, but it came to me loud and clear, word for word, several years ago when I felt a strong desire to leave not only my job, but my 20–year career in business.
Although I love the Bible, I had pretty dismissed Proverbs as just another collection of pithy statements, sort, of like bumper-sticker messages. And as we all know, everywhere today we're bombarded with well-intended advice from talk shows, self-help books, parents, friends, ministers—even our children. So why was I drawn to this particular proverb? What exactly is a proverb anyway? "Proverbs ... are not words of advice, but rather theses or statements about reality to bring clarity out of confusion. They invite the reader to become active, to make a judgment, to discern" (Richard Clifford, The Book of Proverbs and Our Search for Wisdom, Marquette University Press, 1995, p. 6).
For me, I needed to answer the question: leave my job/career or don't leave? My own reasoning argued strongly to stay. After all, I was securely situated at the height of my earning power. As Executive Director of Acquisitions for a major energy company, in a position where my skills were valued, I had a positive career path open before me. Even though dissonance arose frequently in our office, I enjoyed my work and felt it served a positive purpose. What more could I want? Yet I felt an inner urging to pay attention to what Proverbs teaches.
Essentially, the teacher in Proverbs demands that the pupil learn to trust God's wisdom exclusively. Most scholars agree that the theological focus of Proverbs is found in Proverbs 1:7: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge...." Here, fear means "to honor and trust" God's messages. Proverbs teaches that just hearing God's message is not enough. We must discern between the world's view and God's divine guidance. It's not easy to take a path that society in general labels unwise.
All the worries about finances, career, and family dissipated as I listened to and then acted on God's messages one by one each day.
As I continued to study Proverbs, I learned that early scholars considered this book to be almost entirely authored by King Solomon. But scholars today widely recognize Proverbs as a collection of wisdom proverbs and poems coming from many sources. For example, parts of Proverbs have similarities both in form and content to books written in Egypt and Mesopotamia. In fact, the Egyptian Instruction of Amenenope and Proverbs 22:17–23:11 are strikingly similar, almost word for word. (See, for example, Leo G. Perdue, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, John Knox Press, 2004, p. 199, and Michael V. Fox, Jewish Study Bible, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 1448.) Historians don't know who wrote these instructions first, but clearly they came from documents. Solomon may have collected and used many of them, but most likely he did not write them. Solomon, son of David, King of Israel, reigned during the 10th century bc, although historians still debate the exact dates. Authorship of Proverbs was most likely attributed to him because he "... exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom" (I Kings 10:23).
Like most of wisdom literature, Proverbs directly addresses the issues of daily life and focuses on instructing individuals how to listen to God, to discern God's messages, and to act on those messages or guidance. Written in the present tense, Proverbs always directs the reader to the here and now, which make the directives timeless. The emphasis on the present moment becomes obvious by the absence of references to Israel's history such as the exile from Egypt or the wandering in the wilderness or God's covenant with Moses. Instead, Proverbs refers readers directly to God to develop their individual covenant with God. Moreover, geographic territories are not mentioned. We do not hear of tribes, sects, or countries warring with one another. The wise sayings in Proverbs apply to everyone in every country—in ancient times and today. These sacred teachings are both timeless and universal.
The book of Proverbs's intense focus on a continuous "now" relationship with God (with no geographic boundaries) illuminates God's love in our everyday world. We are taught over and over in Proverbs to choose to see God's love: "In all thy ways acknowledge Him" (3:6).
Bible scholar Gunther Plaut summarizes Proverbs in this way: "... man stands perpetually in the presence of God. His life can either glorify or denigrate the divine spark within him ..." (Book of Proverbs: A Commentary, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1961, p. 7). In other words we have a choice—we can choose to glorify God by acting on His wisdom or we can choose the worldly path. The outcome of choosing God is made clear in proverbs 3:9–10: "Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty ..." (New Revised Standard Version).
During the two years I struggled making the decision whether or not to change my career, my work situation became more and more negative. In essence, I had not been acting on God's message to me or, in Plaut's words, I had been "denigrat[ing] the divine spark" within me. When I finally did resign, I realized clearly that it had been the right decision. Another career path opened up for me right away, one I felt certain was divinely directed. All the worries about finances, career, and family dissipated as I listened to and then acted on God's messages one by one each day. My barns were filled with plenty.
Today, as a seminary student and as an instructor of ethics at a major university, I continue to value the book of Proverbs as a rich source of practical ethics in both my roles of student and teacher. When people ask me, "Is the book of Proverbs relevant today?" I answer, "Absolutely!" The book of Proverbs is rich with relevancy on the art of successful living for people in every age.
