Reading The Proverbs With Timothy And Kathy KellerSample
Absurdity
When disaster strikes the foolish, Wisdom laughs. Is this cruel? No. Wisdom here is a representative figure, and the laughter is not coldheartedness but a way to convey “the absurdity of choosing folly.” Albert Camus argued that our hearts long for love without parting, but a universe without God gives us only “the conscious certainty of death without hope.” This chronic lack of fulfillment Camus called “the Absurd.” He saw life as one long black comedy of incurably, unchangeably seeking things out of life that it simply cannot provide.
Camus thought there was no God. Proverbs knows there is, but it agrees that life lived without God will bring futility, because the things of the world cannot fulfill the deepest heart longings. You can never get out of romance, money, and accomplishment the fulfillment that only a relationship with God can bring. So life in a world without God will indeed feel futile and absurd. “The expectation of the righteous ends in joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing” (10:28).
Are you experiencing frustration and futility, even a sense of meaninglessness? Is there something in this world that has failed to satisfy? What can you do about that?
Prayer: Lord, older books and movies ended with good defeating evil, but today they depict life as dark and ambiguous, with no happy endings. Both views of the world are simplistic and foolish. You assure me that my life’s story will contain beauty and absurdity and will end in eternity. Renew that assurance in me today. Amen.
Excerpt from God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Book of Proverbs by Timothy Keller and Kathy Keller
Reprinted by arrangement with Viking Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2017 by Timothy and Kathy Keller
Scripture
About this Plan
Proverbs is God’s book of wisdom, teaching us the essence and goal of a Christian life. In this 14-day devotional, Timothy Keller offers readers a fresh, inspiring lesson for each day based on different passages within the Book of Proverbs. With his trademark knowledge, Keller unlocks the wisdom within the poetry of Proverbs and guides us toward a new understanding of what it means to live a moral life. For devotionals on the entire Book of Proverbs, buy Timothy and Kathy Keller’s latest book, God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life .
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