Week 23

Several proverbs struck chords with me this week, all of them tied to one another.

The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble. (Proverbs 19:23)

Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge. (Proverbs 19:27)

All a man's ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart. (Proverbs 21:2)

(and you will recall a similar one from last week)
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. (Proverbs 14:12)



Speaking from my own experience, I can attest to the truth of the proverb 19:27. From my late teens until my late thirties, I stopped listening to instruction - God's instruction - by allowing myself to leave church. The Word of God was no longer preached to my hearing.

I stopped listening to instruction, and I strayed from the Word of knowledge.

It isn't that I ever disbelieved in God, I simply began living my life to my own liking, doing the things I desired to do with rarely a thought of whether it displeased God or brought Him glory. Over time, God's Word - which I had known and memorized from childhood as the son of a minister - began to leave my memory, even the simplest of verses.

The author of Hebrews urges his readers to:
...not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)

People use this verse in argument for attending church, but they don't expound on why. To many people, it is simply a matter of "it says it, so do it". But, the author had important reasons to write those words: fellowship, accountability, and instruction. The root of the reason is given in the proverb: if you stop listening to instruction, you will stray from the words of knowledge.

Never during those years I lived my life my own way did I think that I was not a good person and a Christian destined to eternal life through Jesus. I knew I was saved, but I was not living a life pleasing to God in the slightest. I professed my Christianity, but my life didn't reflect it. Consequentially, my actions directly or indirectly affected the lives of others that I should have been witnessing God's love and mercy to rather than involving or demonstrating the fulfillment of my own desires.

A man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.

Thank God, He kept calling to me, and He used my brother Steve as a tool that I could hear. With a suddenness and a fear like I'd never felt, I realized just how far I had allowed myself to deviate from God's path and how much I had forgotten about Him. Beginning that day, I began making my way back to Him. As with everyone, it is a daily walk, and there are a few stumbles along the way that are direct consequences of the decisions and habits I developed while following my own path.

Allow me to repost a few proverbs from last week that are related:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)

So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; (Proverbs 2:2-6)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)


So, my friends, continue in instruction and seek to increase in knowledge of Him.


The Lord bless and keep each of you.