August 24th, 2020
I just finished reading the Book of Proverbs and would like to organize my thoughts. The Book of Proverbs seems to be a very practical book with a lot of useful sayings. Some notable Proverbs are as follows:
“Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”
Proverbs 1:7, NLT
Upon reading some study guides for the Book of Proverbs the word fear most closely represents reverence and awe of God as opposed to terror. A more secular interpretation of this may be: “Reverence of the complexity of life and the cosmos is the foundation of true knowledge”. This actually made me think of the Dunning Kruger Effect whereby people rate themselves as better than average even if they only have a minimum skill-level or expertise. This is the opposite for people who are actually experts who think they are below average in their area. A very clear lesson came during my senior design project presentations in engineering school. The project involved designing a module to keep an electronics board from overheating. It seemed that the judges were asking each of the teams to justify their conclusions by asking questions like “how do you know the temperature is under the design requirements?” or “How do you know your model is accurate?”. Our team went last which was a blessing because we could prepare for these questions by examining the responses and follow-up questions of the other teams and judges. It seemed like most of the teams appeared to be confident in their designs and conclusions which caused them to be drilled further. What my team did differently, and what was the a-ha moment, was that we said “We don’t know”. We concluded that the temperature we measured was under the design requirements and found that the model predictions lined up with the experimental results and when asked how do we know, we said confidently said we don’t. It would require us to further refine the model and the design and to conduct more experiments. We ended up winning first place because of this and a number of other things (We were in suits and actually had developed a model). I’m still very proud of this accomplishment because I was the project manager for the project. When discussing this with a professor later that day he mentioned that “That is what PhDs are all about”, specifically that expertise is figuring out what you don’t know and learning about it. I think Proverbs 1:7 can be further refined to say that “The wise know what they don’t know, fools do not”. This seems to be exhibited in the next proverb as well:
“Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.”
Proverbs 12:15, NLT
Fools are overconfident in what they think they know, but the wise, knowing that they don’t know certain things, are more open to learning from others. This is another example of the Dunning Kruger Effect whereby fools confidently think they are better than the experts. Some other proverbs that resonated with me were the following:
“The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence.”
Proverbs 14:16, NLT
“A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash.”
Proverbs 15:14, NLT
“Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.”
Proverbs 18:2, NLT
“Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes.”
Proverbs 19:2, NLT
“4 Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are.
5 Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their own estimation.”
Proverbs 26:4-5, NLT
I think I’m more often than not wise, but I know I can have some foolish moments. I’m certainly cautious when it comes to risky endeavors, but I can jump into things too quickly (This is especially the case when you ADHD). I prefer to learn as opposed to watch something like reality TV, although some “trash” can be entertaining. I genuinely want to understand why people think and act the way they do, but I also want to provide my opinions on certain things. I’m also very keen on getting organized before starting something new and doing my best to not rush into to things. The last one is interesting because it seems contradictory, but I’m sure there is an explanation for it. All-in-all I do feel that I am wise, however if I was to look at the Psalms 14:1 and 53:1 I’d get some dissonance with this statement.
“Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!”
Psalms 14:1 & 53:1, NLT
This causes some disconcertion as I am not 100% sold on whether or not God exists. I don’t think I’m ready to say there is a God, but I’m also not ready to say there is no God. I don’t think I will ever know in my heart that God does exist but I will not stop working to understand what has been written about Him. My biggest question with regards to studying the Bible is “What if God does not exist?” and the opposite “What if God Does Exist?”. It seems like most people are able to believe in God without any qualms, but I seem to have some reservations. Am I a fool for not believing in God if God exists? Do I have no Wisdom? Are believers, who think their way is right, fools (see Proverbs 12:15)? Likewise, if I subscribe to the proverbs listed above, but am a fool who does not believe in God, does that mean that it’s as “useless as a paralyzed leg” or “like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk” to use these proverbs:
“A proverb in the mouth of a fool is as useless as a paralyzed leg.”
Proverbs 26:7, NLT
“A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.”
Proverbs 26:9, NLT
If I come to my own opinions and insights through study and reflection, does that make me foolish and unwise:
“Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.”
Proverbs 28:26, NLT
I think something that I’m finding is that I can’t subscribe to specific doctrines claiming to be the “true” doctrine, because there seem to be so many different interpretations. What makes one persons interpretation more right than another’s. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no “correct” interpretation because it all seems to be so subjective and based on the values brought to it. It’s impossible for anyone to have an interpretation that is cut off from their own biases and I think it would be unwise of me to accept blindly the arguments that someone presents about whether He exists especially if it is based on scripture. If God exists and He wants me to believe in Him, it’s up to Him to figure out how. In conclusion, I like the Book of Proverbs, I think it has a lot of wisdom. Do I believe that it is divine wisdom, not necessarily. I think it is plausible for that wisdom to exist without a divine source and I’m it would be worth studying in greater detail.