To engage the Bible with wisdom, then, is to embrace its diversity, not fight it. “For everything there is a season,” wrote the sage of Ecclesiastes, “. . . a time to mourn, and a time to dance . . . a time to tear, and a time to sew, a time to keep silence, and a time to speak, a time to love, and a time to hate” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4, 7–8 ESV). Arguably, these verses imply a pro tip too: When your friend is sitting in a heap of ashes, grieving the loss of his family and scratching his diseased skin with a shard of broken pottery, it’s time to be silent. It’s a time to listen and grieve.
