Why We Need Proverbs

What does God have to do with real life?

2 Peter 1 says “God’s divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him (Jesus) who called us to his own glory and excellence.” In other words, if you know Jesus, then God has given you everything you need for life and godliness.

The question is, do you really believe that?

Lots of people believe that God can help you to be godly (that’s kind of his thing!) but they’re not really convinced that he’ll give you everything you need for real life. That’s something different.

College students might say, “I’m not really sure God’s given me everything I need to finish school. If I work, I don’t have time to study. If I study instead of work, I won’t have money to survive!” Lots of young moms aren’t sure that God has given them all the energy they need to
raise a baby, keep up with emails, cook dinner, and work part-time so the family can afford diapers for the baby and food for dinner. Older men might not be sure God has given them everything they need to compete with the young, energetic guys at work. They have no idea what else they could do for a job.

They would say, “Yes, God can help me read my Bible and pray and teach Sunday school, but what can he really offer for real life?” That’s where the book of Proverbs comes in. It’s totally unique in the Bible.

  • We have books of history in the Bible like Genesis. It gives you the huge story of how God created the universe, and how he chose a certain people called the Israelites.
  • We have books of the law like Deuteronomy. It tells you how God relates to his people, and how he wants his people to relate to him.
  • We have books of prophecy, like Isaiah, which explains how God’s people tend to stray away from him, and how God’s wrath is going to come because of their sin.
  • We have gospels like Matthew. It shows you how God saved his people from his wrath by sending his son Jesus.
  • We have epistles like Romans. It tells you the implications of the gospel for the church and the world.

But we need more! You deal with the messiness of life every day, and most of your life doesn’t fit under any law. The Ten Commandments don’t tell you what to do when your boss has something hanging out of his nose. “Do I tell him? … I gotta tell him. … But I can’t tell him!” Most of your life doesn’t fit into the examples from the history books. Abraham never had to figure out how to get his kids off their iPads.

That’s why God gave us Proverbs. It’s a book full of wise counsel on the little details of life. Here’s a great example. Proverbs 25:20 says, “Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda.” Have you ever been going through a really tough time in life, and someone said to you, “Man, you gotta look on the bright side. Just keep thinking positive thoughts, and everything will turn out OK!”

How did that make you feel inside? Like vinegar on soda. Try mixing vinegar with baking soda sometime and you’ll see what a violent reaction it can be. That’s how it feels when you try to cheer someone up at the wrong time, and God thinks it’s really valuable to know that! Proverbs is the only place in the Bible that tells you things like that.

Because God cares about big huge theological truths and the big broad scope of redemptive history, but he also cares about the little things that make such a big difference in your life and relationships and family and career every day. You can follow the Ten Commandments and still make a mess of your life. You can follow the example of Jesus and still make bad decisions.

So Proverbs comes in and shows us how God wants to help in day-by-day, moment-by- moment, real life. What kind of person should I marry? Which career should I pursue? How should I spend my money? How should I raise my kids?

Join us on Sunday mornings, and let the wisdom of Proverbs be your life coach.