Weltanschauung. Let me say it again, but this time I’ll stand back, in case I don’t say it, but spray it. Weltanschauung. A simple word-for-word translation of this German word would render the world “worldview,” but linguists (that is, someone who studies language) wouldn’t call worldview a definition for weltanschauung. A person’s weltanschauung is a worldview that fully covers beliefs about philosophy, religion, morality, government, society, politics and economics. To have a weltanschauung, the person just doesn’t know about these topics, but the person fully understands them, has come to a conclusion about, can fully defend his or her stances, and knows how they affect life and how to live them out. The book of Proverbs stresses that people need to have a weltanschauung, but mores specifically, God’s people need to have a godly weltanschauung, and not a human weltanschauung.
Proverbs 3:5,6 ESV-
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Before we look at the text itself, we need to look at the structure of Hebrew poetry. We have to look at the structure of Hebrew poetry because Hebrew poets used the structure Hebrew poetry to get their message across to their audience. To ignore the structure of a Hebrew poem would be like saying there’s no difference between a sonnet and a limerick. Hebrew poets formed their poetry around poetic parallelisms, or parallels of arrangement and idea, where one line parallels another line in thought. Poetic parallelism appear in a few forms. One kind of parallelism is synonymous parallelism, in which two lines say the same thing using different word that are typically synonyms, hence synonymous.
Now take a look at verse five. Verse five is a synonymous parallelism. It may not seem like a clear-cut parallelism in English, but the Hebrew says differently. Trust parallels lean. The Hebrew word betah, more fully means to rely on heavily. Lean, in Hebrew, is tishshan. Literally, tishshan translates into “lean,” but it has a figurative meaning of trusting in somone. In ancient times, kings would lean against their ministers, magistrates and governors in public to symbolize that the king trusted that person with the power the king gave the person, and so the public should trust the person in power as well. The Lord does not parallel “your own”, but rather parallels “not your own,” for, as this passage teaches, the Lord’s ways are not our ways. Heart parallels understanding. Once again, this pair of words better parallels in the Hebrew. In modern-day America, we associate the heart with our emotions, or how we feel. The Hebrews associated lev, the Hebrew word for “heart,” not only with emotions and how a person felt, but also intellect and how a person thought. Solomon probably meant it in the latter sense, for the latter sense best parallels “understanding.” Binyat, the Hebrew word for “understanding,” comes from two words translated as “between” and “to discern.” Compounded, binyat literally means “to discern between.” This connotation implies that understanding involves discerning between morally right and morally wrong. Put it all together, Solomon carefully chooses his words and parallelisms to teach his son to trust and heavily rely on God’s way of thinking, not his own or anyone one else’s, especially in terms of morals.
How does someone think like God thinks? The first half of verse six provides a good start to thinking like God. It reads, “In all your ways acknowledge him.” The Hebrew word translated into “acknowledge” in its base form is yada, Yada simply means “to know,” but it carries deeper connotations. This type of knowing is more intimate. It means getting to know someone or something better. It means knowing to improve your relationship with someone. As the prepositional phrase “in all your ways” hints, it’s an all-encompassing knowledge that affects how you think and how you act. Solomon instructs his son to first get to know the Lord as much as possible in order to think like God and act like God.
Sometimes the Christian’s greatest obstacle to obtaining a godly worldview can be himself or herself. Christians too often get tempted to think God’s will is their will, instead of making their will God’s will. American Christians pursue the American dream, expecting God to bless it. If a Christian gets too caught up in this idea, the Christian can face disappointment when they don’t get that safe, easy life. Instead, if the Christian starts thinking like God thinks, the Christian can see clearly how God has blessed him or her and will continue him or her. A girl might struggle for a while in her faith when her body will not produce a child, something she always wanted. When she surrenders her will to God, she can think the way God thinks, and she can see how God is moving. God could lead to adopt a child and provide love to a child who might have grown up in a home without love. And all because she thought like God.
In closing, I pray you may have a weltanschauung, and not just any weltanschauung, but a godly weltanschauung. May your weltanschauung guide you to think more like God and less like the world or yourself. And may in turn God show you the way clearly.