I’ve never been drawn to Proverbs as much as other parts of Scripture. People often treat them like small sayings to memorize, but wisdom involves more than memorizing rules. Jesus didn’t rely on quick statements. He asked questions, told stories, and lived alongside His disciples. That’s where wisdom came alive.
Much of the Koran, the Book of Mormon, and several other religious texts rely heavily on moral instruction and clear directives.* The Bible does something different. It draws in the whole person—mind, will, emotion, body. Still, many people who don’t read the Bible assume it’s just a book of rules. Some Old Testament books sound that way, but the New Testament works on a completely different level.
Where the Message Gets Lost
A big part of the confusion comes from the fact that many people haven’t read the New Testament with any real attention. Another part is that churches often settle for simplified teaching because it’s easier to manage. Lists make it simple to measure who belongs. Israel started with the Ten Commandments. By the time Jesus entered the scene, those ten had turned into over 700 Pharisaical regulations.
Jesus stripped all that away. He said he came to “fulfill the law”, which he did. He invited people into a relationship with God beyond rules and regulations.
However, throughout the next thousand years of the church, people went right back to building lists: mortal sins, venial sins, sins of omission and commission, the seven deadly sins. Then the Reformation happened, which was a healthy corrective, but new lists eventually formed across the different Protestant traditions, which caused further divisions.
Growing up, I knew which group allowed what. The Presbyterians drank. The Methodists danced. The Lutherans went to the movies. My tradition avoided all three. It felt like everyone else had more fun!
Things shifted when I reached college and discovered what a personal relationship with Christ actually was. Wisdom started to make sense once it came from knowing Him rather than monitoring behavior, or what I call “sin management".
The PR Problem Isn’t New
Over the years, I’ve often been troubled by the way Christians present themselves. I am often embarrassed by what I see people say, believe, or behave in the name of Christ. At times, I really thought they were stupid. Henry Cloud put words to my experience in his book Why I Believe, especially the chapter titled, “Jesus, please explain Your followers.” It was strangely relieving to know someone else noticed the same thing.
It has become apparent to me that believers carry emotional or mental wounds they’ve never addressed. Instead of pursuing healing and inner transformation, they spiritualize the dysfunction. Forrest Gump’s line applies here: “Stupid is as stupid does.” Sometimes that foolishness shows up in churches and becomes the lens through which people see God and live out their lives.
This week, I read Proverbs 19:3 (MSG):
People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does GOD always get blamed?
That was written nearly three thousand years ago. God has been blamed for people’s stupidity long before Christ entered our history.
Why Transformation Takes Real Willingness
Jesus opened the door for deep inner change through His life, death, and resurrection. Being born anew from within was His way of describing a new inner reality made possible by the Spirit. The Spirit dwells within us and gives us his presence and power to be different.
However, we are not robots; we still have a choice in how we respond. Old habits don’t disappear automatically. And often, I see dysfunctional people before this transformation maintain some of those same dysfunctions afterwards.
That gap between God’s work and our willingness creates many of the public issues people blame on God.
How Do We Respond to These Situations
So what are we to do? Calling someone foolish in public only adds fuel to the fire, and this further complicates God’s PR problem. The New Testament gives us some wisdom on handling these kinds of issues.
First, we must ask ourselves if it is a “hill worth dying on”. Often, I realize that it is my issue of wanting to be right, so I make peace with my sin and forget it. Even if I have been offended, I am to forgive and not confront out of resentment. If I believe they are wrong (stupid) and need to be corrected, I first have to go to them privately and share my perspective in a way that encourages listening on everyone’s part. If we can’t resolve it, we should find someone we both respect and bring them into the process. If, after that, there is no resolution, we should walk away and let God ultimately be the one who deals with these issues in his time and his way.
What We’re Actually Responsible For
Galatians describes the fruit the Spirit produces: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. If believers lived under the direction and power of the Spirit, God’s PR problem would fade quickly.
I can’t control anyone else. The Spirit doesn’t force Himself on anyone. But I can decide how much control to give him in my own life. That’s the part I’m responsible for. Jesus can handle the rest of His PR issues.
*According to Perplexity’s AI analysis, the Koran, Book of Mormon, and OT have much more moral teaching and less narrative than the NT. According to Perplexity’s AI analysis the Koran (for example) has twice the legal imperatives and moral guidance than the NT and half the narrative. This is because the Gospels and Acts are almost entirely narratives.