My apologies for the long interlude between posts. Since my last post, I've: 1) Endured the trauma of Hurricane Rita. (We attempted to evacuate. Drove 15 hours and got 60 miles north. We spent the storm at First UM Church, Montgomery, just outside of Conroe. It only took us 1 hour to return home. It was a terrifying experience, even though the storm eventually went east of us.) 2) Made trips to San Diego for a niece's wedding and a two-week trip to France with the church's learning ministry.

But I'm back and settled down now. In Disciple IV we're beginning a look at the Book of Proverbs.

The core theological claim of Proverbs, one of 3 "wisdom literature" books in the OT (Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes), is that fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, or wisdom. The theology of Proverbs -- which never mentions the Exodus, or Jerusalem, or the Temple, or the usual key stuff of OT theology -- is grounded in creation. Divine revelation in Proverbs is for the most part embedded in the created world. To discern the order "built in" to creation, and reflected in the social order, and to learn to live within that order, is both wisdom and righteousness.

Here's something to ponder -- Proverbs presents life as essentially "fair." (Something another wisdom literature book, Job, takes issue with.) Life is better for those who are wise, righteous, and diligent than it is for those who are foolish, wicked, and lazy. Job will argue and say that EVEN WHEN you are wise, righteous, and diligent, life can stink.

One can certainly understand both arguments. A mother looks out the door and sees one of her son's friends chatting on the street with a beautiful neighbor woman (Prov. 7:6-27) The mother knows this woman's husband is away on business. She sees her take the boy by the hand and go into the house. They don't come out. The mother knows what is going on. And she knows what pain is lurking at the door of their lives. So she urges her son to avoid such a path. "Do this and pain will result, don't do this, and avoid such pain." There's truth in that. And yet, just this week, a 32-year old, church-going high school principle with epilepsy had a seizure while taking a bath and drowned. Where is the fairness in that?

What has been your experience? Is life fair? Is life better for you when you make wise choices?