A Woman's Wisdom, by Lydia Brownback : Part 1

When I saw A Woman's Wisdom: How the Book of Proverbs Speaks to Everything pop up on Crossway Books' new release list, I knew I'd want to read it. (If it's from Crossway, I generally want to read it. And wisdom isn't generally something I purposefully try to avoid receiving. For the most part anyway.) Having read one other book by Brownback before, I knew her style had great appeal and so I was in a good position to really like this book.

I did more than liked A Woman's Wisdom - I loved it, although for somewhat painful reasons. And so I'm going to do something with this book that I've threatened to do with others. I'm going to talk about it all of this week. I didn't want to do all of the talking though and so I asked for a couple of other friends and bloggers share their insights and opinions on this book as well.

It should not for one second be believed that we are addressing the subjects which this book talks about because we feel we are superior or in a place to give instruction without receiving any. We aren't perfect and do not in any way pretend to be. (If you know us well, you must know this to be true!) We are only talking about these subjects because we feel that someone ought to; because we don't hear these subjects being addressed very much and/or because we feel passionately about them. It is, however, completely understood that we are very much in need of wisdom ourselves. The only thing we hope to impress upon ourselves in writing what we do is the need to pursue wisdom and apply it as accurately as possible. We invite and encourage you along the journey.

As an overview, this book is a study of the Book of Proverbs as specifically applied to women. From the very beginning, Brownback admonishes and encourages her readers to hate sin and pursue righteousness.

To live wisely is also to love righteousness. But do we? If we're honest, we have to admit that, even as Christians, a part of us doesn't hate sin. Why else would we continue to practice it? We hate the horrible effects of the sin we see in our world, in our children, and in our own lives, but we will hate the sin itself only as we grow in the fear of the Lord. (Chapter 1, What, Exactly, is Wisdom?, page 24)

Only by learning to hate sin can we truly grow in wisdom.

In today's day and age we tend to think of "sin" as a bad word. It's harsh to declare that someone is sinning or "is living in sin", no matter what the truth may be. We either don't want to hurt someone's feelings, or we dislike conflict, and so we glance over bad behavior and poor communications so that a general sense of temporary happiness can be maintained. These days we're afraid to say that something is or could be wrong. We like feeling happy; we deserve to be happy. We choose ignorance in order to pursue temporary pleasures. Ignorance does not foster anyone's growth in wisdom. Frequently a growth spurt in wisdom requires a certain amount of pain - which is why we try to avoid it. Deciding that you will pursue wisdom, no matter what the cost, is not an easy decision to make but it offers you the most promise because the pursuit of it will bring you life.

Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices.
Proverbs 1:29-31

So what is our goal in discussing this book? It is merely to promote thoughtful conversation and self-evaluation, (in ourselves, by the way), comparing our own thoughts and behaviors to scripture. We long to cultivate humility by ceasing to naval gaze and to see what God has to say about the way that we speak, build and maintain friendships and generally go about living our lives.

We hope you will journey with us.

It is with some excitement that I am also pleased to announce that Crossway Books offered up one copy of this book each day. Today's winner is: Kristin (See Mommy Sew)

Congratulations!

To read the rest of this week's discussion, click on the following links:

• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5