"What wisdom is not": the "train signal box overview" analogy, (J.I. Packer) w/ strong applications to the scope of theodicy.
Why you -might- want to "cover your mouth" when it comes to someone's suffering. And in a lot of other situations as well!!
Here is a splendid analogy of J.I. Packer’s from (link to his “Knowing God” on Archive.org) that I often think about. (emphasis mine)
If you stand at the end of a platform at York Station, you can watch a constant succession of engine and train movements which, if you are a railway enthusiast, will greatly fascinate you. But you will only be able to form a very rough and general idea of the overall plan in terms of which all these movements are being determined…
If, however, you are privileged enough to be taken by one of the higher-ups into the magnificent electrical signal-box that lies athwart platforms 7 and 8, you will see on the longest wall a diagram of the entire track layout for five miles on either side of the station, with little glow-worm lights moving or stationary on the different tracks to show the signalmen at a glance exactly where every engine and train is. At once you will be able to look at the whole situation through the eyes of those who control it: you will see from the diagram why it was that this train had to be signalled to a halt, and that one diverted from its normal running line, and that one parked temporarily in a siding. The why and the wherefore of all these movements becomes plain once you can see the overall position.
Now, the mistake that is commonly made is to suppose that this is an illustration of what God does when he bestows wisdom: …an ability to see why God has done what he has done in a particular case, and what he is going to do next. People feel that if they were really walking close to God, so that he could impart wisdom to them freely, then they would, so to speak, find themselves in the signal-box; they would discern the real purpose of everything that happened to them, and it would be clear to them every moment how God was making all things work together for good…
I believe this to be a shockingly common and under-discussed problem in the church in America today. Perhaps it is not anything that Christians have been taught from the Bible that makes them feel that if they were truly spiritual people they would “discern the real purpose of everything that happened to them.” I think it, rather, may be culturally-American assumptions, or maybe even generally human assumptions: “That’s how I wish it was, so that’s how it is,” perhaps?
But if we have this malady, we fall prey to the dangerous illusion, as Packer later says, that “it is necessary for us to claim that we are… here and now enjoying inside information as to the why and wherefore of God’s doings.”
I would say that’s horrid, but I’m going to let the theology-dude I quoted speak again: He has some stronger words for us further along, after Packer gives an example of “the kind of wisdom given to the children of men” ripped from Ecclesiastes, which I’m skipping in this post. They are:
Many of us need this admonition. [that seeking the ultimate purpose of everything will ultimately lead you to despair, pessimism, and the sense that the world does not feel as if a benevolent Providence is ordering it] For not only are we caught up with the York signal-box conception, or misconception, of what wisdom is; we feel that, for the honor of God (and also, though we do not say this, for the sake of our own reputation as spiritual Christians), it is necessary for us to claim that we are… [privvy to insider information as to all God’s purposes.] This comforting pretense becomes part of us: we feel sure that God has enabled us to understand all his ways with us and our circle thus far, and we take it for granted that we shall be able to see at once the reason for anything that may happen to us in the future.
Now, if that notion is ceases to be comforting, (see the last quote below) reasonable-sounding voices will say, “You’re putting too much on yourself! Don’t hold yourself responsible for knowing all that.” But if their listener believes that a great deal is asked of them simply by virtue of the fact that they are a human being, he will not heed that suggestion. Well-meaning souls will keep striving regardless, and ignore your call to calm down and “let someone else deal with it.” It’s not a solution to the actual problem they see before themselves as most critical: If they are Christian, they want to do what God wishes them to do in every moment and in every situation. And this is a God who can indeed ask the impossible, for he is the sort who in the past has chosen to cheerfully flood small, weak people with the power and strength, but to do the impossible. Likewise, if they are not Christian, the problem could surely still be quite relevant to them—though it may take another name—perhaps simply, “To fulfill my responsibility.”
The “well you can’t be expected to be responsible for all that” argument (which I guess I could shorten to “YOLO.”) appears to be just another careless falsehood offered hastily because someone else is uncomfortable with your pain. Wants to push a soporific on you to numb the symptoms they see you suffering under. (Perhaps I am too harsh?) But the symptoms? To YOU, they appear to be the sense of the awful weight of your own obligation. (symptoms, which, unwelcome, you brought in to the room with you like an ill wind.) You don’t want to numb yourself to a sense of obligation, if it points to your true obligation. “What about the truth?” you cry!
For this reason, many of us strange folk who WILL stand on principle and/or who MUST cling to our God can find those words of Packer’s to be healing medicine. (though perhaps of the strong and foul-tasting sort!) He’s saying, “Actually, you are just wrong. You actually can’t figure out all these things, nor are you charged to. It is foolishness, and the opposite of wisdom to focus on them.” This is far, far more compelling than, “Don’t put such a big burden on yourself.” Lastly, there are indeed other things that we ARE supposed to do in place of that type of “seeking of God’s will / seeking to know the meaning of all that happens,” and which ARE considered wisdom that is attainable. (Hint: It’s much less glamorous!) Not only are we encouraged to NOT DO one set of things (that seemed wise), but there is a positive effort in seeking wisdom that we are encouraged to DO. (I don’t talk about that in this post.)
Okay, here’s the quote I promised above!
Christians suffering… may drive themselves almost crazy with this kind of futile inquiry. For it is futile: make no mistake about that. It is true that when God has given us guidance by application of principles he will on occasion confirm it to us by unusual providences, which we will recognize at once as corroborative signs. But this is quite a different thing from trying to read a message about God’s secret purposes out of every unusual thing that happens to us. So far from the gift of wisdom consisting in the power to do this, the gift [the actual gift of wisdom] actually presupposes our conscious inability to do it…
Well, that’s a start. There is so much more.
For me, the most DELIGHTFUL thing about account of “What Wisdom is Not” is STILL is the fact that Packer baited me into thinking he was about to say that the “signal box view” was desirable and attainable in SPITE of the fact that he WARNED me that he was telling us “what wisdom is not” IN THE section title. It came as quite the shock! I was the butt of the joke. He got me!
I hope I’m not the only one who had that experience, though. (That would just make me look ridiculous.)
But also, that style of teaching a thing: catches ones listener/reader/student by surprise—this is done from wisdom. :) It is centered on the recipient, not on oneself. (I have much to aspire to yet.)
Of my 5 readers subscribers, I thought of one in particular as this post evolved: So I’m dedicating it to you, Ishaan! Hang. in. there.
I think it's probably more of a problem in American culture than elsewhere, this need to understand the whys and wherefores of every suffering. We're not free from it in Europe either, but there is perhaps a greater willingness to accept that sometimes, things happen for no reason, or for a stupid reason. And I sometimes find Hollywood movies quite grating, when the hero finds out why they had to suffer, and that suddenly makes everything okay. (For instance, Signs, or Frozen II)