SEEKING WISDOM IN

by Executive Pastor Kaitlyn Forster

One of the wisest people I have ever met was my college advisor. She always seemed to know what to say and when to say it and her pursuit of knowledge felt unmatched by others. As I reflect on the impact she made on life, what made her wise had little to do with academics or being the smartest person in the room. Instead, it had to do with how she used poetry, literature, and metaphors to help people not only think about tough topics, but to also feel them. She taught us how to engage multiple senses to deepen our understanding of faith and the world.

In scripture, there are some books of the Bible traditionally known as wisdom literature. They are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. In the Jewish tradition, they are a part of scripture identified as the Ketuvim or “Writings” and almost read like the assignments of a creative writing class. Some are short, pithy insights that influence how we are to live, as in the Proverbs. Others are poetry, ballads of love, or narratives bursting with metaphors.

Ecclesiastes, for instance, shares the story of someone who has everything but doesn’t quite understand it. Wrestling with questions like, “What is the meaning of life?” “Why should I bother being a ‘good’ person?” “What do I need to do for faith to make sense?” The author weighs pros and cons, using intellect and reason to come up with a clear, concise answer. But, in the end, the author comes to the conclusion that what will keep them from vain pursuits is to trust in God, the great teacher, and to trust in the journey more than the destination. Everything else is a vanity of vanities.

Really, what all the wisdom scripture writings have in common is they do not shy away from the tougher moments of life. They uncover something true about the nature of reality that guides us deeper into our understanding of it. Jesus even draws upon the psalms in his last moments on earth. On the cross, where the pain was so deep, he relied on the words of Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” when nothing else would do.

It shows us that there are some experiences of this life that cannot be framed logically. Which is why we need wisdom to help us make sense of the nature of life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. In a sense, engaging the wisdom stories becomes God’s way of holding space for us. Inviting us to also lay everything that we have, and everything that we are, on the table. To wrestle, cry, complain, offer thanks, and shout obscenities to our creator without self-consciousness and without fear. The Bible doesn’t shy away from bringing these things to God, and neither should we. Wisdom reminds us that life is a journey of humility and faithfulness, taken one step at a time. It is full of joys and sorrows that don’t always resolve neatly, and those are precisely the places where God meets us.