The Hebrew Bible enshrines a diverse wisdom tradition ranging from Proverbs’ tight connection between human righteousness and God’s blessing in the world, to Job’s wrestling with a God whose work in the world is inscrutable, to Qoheleth’s angst that the God in heaven works all too little in the world in Ecclesiastes. Joel and Ethan Coen have worked this very diversity of voices into their recent films True Grit, A Serious Man, and No Country for Old Men. Let’s turn our attention to the Proverbs tradition reflected in True Grit.
As the film begins, the viewer is first met with these words: “The wicked flee when none pursueth” (Proverbs 28:1). This epigram provides a first interpretive frame for making sense of the ensuing film. Appropriate to its Old Western genre, the principal antagonist, Tom Cheney, is wicked, and the principal protagonist, Mattie Ross, good. And in the immediately following voiceover we learn that the wicked has in fact fled, though none were pursuing.
This aphorism is at home in the Proverbs. The sayings in this book depict a world of just correlation. At the risk of oversimplification, and acknowledging that there will always be exceptions to such a rule, in Proverbs those who heed the voice of wisdom can expect to be established in safety, living at ease, and without fear of harm (Prov 1:33); whereas those who refuse her call will inherit the disaster they have sown for themselves (Prov 1:26-32). However, Proverbs does not depict the world as a closed system of cause and effect, where good itself begets good results and evil (or foolish) action begets evil results; it is, instead, a divinely superintended system of cause and effect where God ensures that the righteous are rewarded and the evil punished. This is a book of wisdom that sits under the saying, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 1:7). More:
The LORD gives wisdom…
He reserves ability for those with integrity.
He is a shield for those
who live a blameless life.
He protects the paths of justice
and guards the way of those
who are loyal to him. (Prov 2:6-8, CEB)
Thus, within the framework of established by the first couple chapters of Proverbs, the epigram of True Grit fits as one instance of a larger thematic whole: God ensures that a good life awaits the wise and, conversely that a life of evil results awaits the wicked. They will flee when none pursue. Were we to look up the latter half of the proverb that sits over the whole film, its counterpart would also fit well within the framework of Proverbs and the story of True Grit: “but the righteous is as confident as a lion” (Prov 28:1b, NET).
The invitation to view True Grit through the lenses of just such a divinely superintended system of just retribution is furthered by the opening voiceover, provided from the perspective of a grown-up Mattie Ross: “No doubt Chaney fancied himself scot free, but he was wrong. You must pay for everything in this world, one way and another. There is nothing free, except the grace of God.” So yes, there is an unearned grace of God, but that has nothing to do with the business of paying for what one might have done or taken or received.
It is precisely because God is at work in the world that the system of retribution can be affirmed with such confidence. A third invitation to see God’s hand actively at work in the film comes from the underlying soundtrack. Mattie’s fearless tenacity reflects the disposition of the hymn, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” that provides the score with its musical motif. Those who know the song supply the words on their own, those who do not must wait until the final credits. But the successful venture of Mattie Ross finds its interpretation through the lyrics in both instances:
What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms
Leaning, leaning. Safe and secure from all alarms
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms
O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way leaning on the everlasting arms
O how bright the path grows from day to day leaning on the everlasting arms
Leaning, leaning safe and secure from all alarms
Leaning, leaning I’m leaning on the everlasting arms
It is interesting, though perhaps a reach for interpreting the hymn in the context of the film, that “the everlasting arms” is itself a reference to Deut 33:27: “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.”
When, in the opening credits, Mattie says “you have to pay for everything in this world,” the most ready example that springs to mind in context is the avenging of her father’s death on Cheney. But Mattie herself must pay for the justice she acquires, as we learn in the end. She does not pay with her life, but she does pay dearly. Like the novel, but unlike the 1969 version of the film, Mattie loses her arm as a result of a snake-bite that comes after she shoots Cheney.
In Proverbs, the work of the righteous will attain to its righteous end. Mattie gets her man. The Texas Ranger LaBoeuf finds redemption of his own as well. He tells of a failed attempt at a three-hundred yard shot at Cheney, a failure that he reverses when he is able to save Rooster by taking down Lucky Ned Pepper: “Four hundred yards, at least!” Mattie exclaims.
In True Grit, those who do the right thing find their just reward. Friendship is generated through forgiveness (Prov 17:9), the fallen righteous rise (Prov 24:16), the bad guys fail, and justice is served. This world is not a perfect place, but it is a place where those who trust in the Lord can know that they are safe and secure from all alarms.
The western genre of victorious good guys overcoming the murderous bad guys is well suited to embodying the Proverbs’ confidence in God’s justice playing itself out in this world. God sustains Mattie Ross’ quest for justice because she is in the right – the wicked fall as the righteous overtake them. Righteousness is the way of wisdom, not only because it honors God, but also because God honors it with reward in this life.
As a whole, the wisdom tradition, and the reintroduction of the wisdom tradition into our modern vernacular through the Coen Brothers’ films, invites us to reassess what we think we know about how the world works. Those who think they can get away with anything, pursuing the follies of youth, might need the sobering wake up of a world where God superintends the distribution of justice.
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J.R. Daniel Kirk is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. He also claims “living in San Francisco cool guy cred, diligent parenting of two wee ones daddy cred, and struggling farmer to 1 hen and 4 chicks urban crunchy cred.” He blogs admirably at jrdkirk.com, tweets at @jrdkirk, and recently unveiled a new book, Jesus Have I Loved, But Paul? that you should probably check out.