Today we continue our tour through the different literary sections of the Bible. We will spend this week in Proverbs - the wisdom literature. Proverbs is written to teach us the basic principles of life…how should we live in this world. Wisdom is learning to take the knowledge of God and apply it to everyday life.
Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. (Proverbs 1:29-31)
These verses caught my attention this morning. How do we get in trouble in life?
1. We hate knowledge. Sometimes we simply prefer ignorance. We would rather be entertained than engaged. We would rather not know truth than be forced to confront it and possibly have to change. Sort of like the man who suspects he is sick, but willfully avoids going to the doctor. “Maybe if I ignore it, it will go away.” When we refuse to acknowledge the sickness of our own heart and our need for help, our need to change, we choose ignorance. We choose foolishness.
2. We do not choose to fear God. It is always amazing to me that a person who lives at most 100 years, who cannot conquer death, who cannot control nature, who cannot even control his own body, often has the audacity to look the eternal Almighty God in the face and say, “Leave me alone. I don’t need You. And I don’t want You either.” Wow. The foolishness of human pride. We have no fear of God, no respect of His power, no regard for His sovereignty. In our minds, we run the universe and God must answer to us. Sounds like the mind of a spoiled, strong-willed two year old, doesn’t it?
3. We do not accept wisdom’s advice. We do not want to know. We do not want to acknowledge God. And we do not want to listen. To accept advice requires a willingess to admit one’s limitations and admit one’s need for help. We simply do not want to go there. As my three old year often says, “I do it.” Expanded tranlsation…”Leave me alone, dad. I got this one.”
4. We spurn wisdom’s rebuke. Here is where the real rub is. We do not like acknowledging God and hearing His word quite simply because we do not like to be told we are wrong. As someone once said, “We would rather die than repent.” There is a fierce streak of independence running through our veins. It is there when we are born. It is there when we are toddlers and resisting the help of our parents. It is there when we are teenagers and think we have greater wisdom than our parents. It is there when we are young adults and spurn the older generation as naive and old-fashioned. It is there when we are adults and stubbornly refuse to hear the advice of others, especially those younger than us. It is there, deep down, when we hear the conviction of the Holy Spirit and we stiffen up our necks and say, “Get out of here! You do not know what is best for me.”
This is the way of the fool. And the end of this way is getting to “eat the fruit” of your stubbornness. What is that fruit? Distress in one’s soul. Trouble in one’s relationships. Bondage to sin. And ultimately death.
That is why ”wisdom call aloud in the street” and “raises her voice in the public squares” and “cries out at the head of noisy streets.” Because God is eager to rescue us from our own self-destruction. But only the humble, the repentant, and the wise, perk up their ears to listen.
Lord, teach me to be wise!