Proverbs 3:7 – Wise In Your Own Eyes

How the world loves its self-wisdom!  We look at Proverbs and all the cautions that God provides to keep us from going our own way, and what does man do?  He goes his own way.  In so many passages of the Bible, the Lord shows His care and concern for His creation by admonishing people to walk in the way that He directs.  The benefits are bountiful for those who heed that sound advice, and the downside should be evident, but the darkness away from God attracts people.

It’s hard for most of us to initially come to grips that there is a better way to walk through this life than doing it on our own.  Proverbs 3:3 tells us a major advantage in heeding God’s Word for our lives:

So you will find favor and good success

    in the sight of God and man.

Doesn’t everyone want that?  If so, how do we find it?  Proverbs 3:5-7 counsels us:

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.

Be not wise in your own eyes;

    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

Theses verse gives us six directions for a Godly life:

  1. Trust in the Lord
  2. Don’t trust ourselves
  3. Acknowledge God in all things
  4. Don’t think we know everything
  5. Give God the reverent fear He deserves
  6. Avoid evil of every kind

Let’s look at this advice briefly.

  • Trust in the Lord
    • How do we do this?  It begins with trusting that His Word is true and the most valuable asset we own.  When we realize there is no other source of wisdom in this world to which we can turn, and know that God will guide us without fail, it’s a big step in this direction.  We can then read the Word and gain the wisdom and insight He wishes us to have; then he guides our every step.
  • Don’t trust ourselves
    • This is the flipside of trusting God.  If we persist in thinking our ways are better than His, we will always stumble.  Only when we lay down our own agendas for the one God has ordained for us, do we find favor with Him.  This is the hardest thing for any of us to do, because we often aren’t walking intimately with the Lord.  Only through that deep personal relationship can we actually get to the point of saying, “You’re right, Lord.  Let me follow You.”
  • Acknowledge God in all things
    • God may be omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, but because we can’t see Him, we often think He’s not at our side or doesn’t care what we do.  Satan likes to push that lie.  The Lord is with us and in our midst whatever we do and wherever we go.  Should we not thank and praise Him for all things in our lives?  What if we did that?  How would that change our perception of God?
  • Don’t think we know everything
    • The shadow from the serpent tempting Eve in the garden and saying, “Did God really say?” is a long one that we continue under today.  If God hasn’t told us the truth, or if he is a distant, uninvolved entity, the natural conclusion is that we have to make it on our own by figuring everything out ourselves.  God tells us that’s not the case.  We don’t know it all and never will, but He does!
  • Give God the reverent fear He deserves
    • This is huge because it’s a quality of modern Christian life that we’ve lost.  We fear government or COVID or the so-called vaccines, but do we fear God?  By fearing these things of the world, we diminish God because He obviously is too small to help us deal with them.  But what if we turned this paradigm upside down?  What if we saw God as large and in charge and capable of seeing us through these minor inconveniences that will become something else a year from now?  In other words, all problems are temporal; they change or pass away.  Does God?  Of course not!  Then shouldn’t we view Him in a different light as capable of helping us deal with the mess around us?  Shouldn’t we give Him the appropriate fear that he deserves?
  • Avoid evil of every kind
    • What if we walked through this life and actually obeyed God?  What would that look like?  It would surely mean that we adhered to the many Scriptural passages that reveal how God blesses those who bless Him.  And we bless Him through doing what He commands.  For that, He showers us with goodness and mercy, showing the intense love He has for us.  The way to avoid evil is rooted in following only Jesus Christ and no other god.  When we do that and forsake the enticing idols of this world; when we give our hearts to the Lord in absolute believing loyalty, that creates a sea-change in our relationship with Him.  How can we possibly do evil if our hearts are wholly centered on and for the Lord?  If we live like that, is it even possible for us to engage in anything evil?

Having the wisdom of God is a blessing that isn’t out of anyone’s reach.  He makes wisdom available to all.  As such, we can all walk in it if that’s our desire.  All we have to do is ask.

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