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I do not ask the Bible to help me balance my checkbook or advice on the best time of day to get my work accomplished. I do not want that kind of advice from a book that was not intended to be read that way. Only more recently has this literalist movement taken hold (and thanks to Karen Armstrong for explaining how that happened).Every day though there are concerns about how to deal with the internal conflicts that one's spiritual nature has with the world in which we live. it is, for example, extremely difficult to be charitable towards the person who has just cut you off in traffic. It can be justified, that anger I feel, by saying he could have killed me or someone else. But the truth of the matter is, being angry and calling names and wanting to act on that vengeful feeling inside me will not help me or him or anyone.
For those moments of extreme spiritual need, it is a good thing to remember that the Bible is full of those stories of those who have coveted, killed, raped, stolen and the conflicts and problems this has caused them.
Because life is not simple and clear cut, the Bible, in its entirety offers us the opportunity to learn lessons daily about how to work through, think through (because God did give us free will) and not to be slavish but to be mindful and loving and for those who are Christian to see Christ in all we meet.
If anyone thinks that this kind of life is an easy one to live, then they have not tried it. For the most part, most people are not even aware of the constant internal conflicts raging inside them. If we went to a ball game and asked those in attendance what they were struggling with, I doubt we could find many who would even understand the question let alone been guided in ways to find solutions to the problems life throws at us from every direction.
So, even though the Bible does not always tell me what to do or how to do it, it opens a door into a world that is not based on my selfish self-interest. It shows me a world where the entire human complexity is on display. It helps me to be engaged and engrossed in matching my inner world with the struggles that are represented in its stories, songs, proverbs and teachings. From those lessons I begin to learn and grow in ways that are not predictable but are of great importance.
