proverbs 4 – Rev. Tim Ehrhardt

Hear, my child, and accept my words,
    that the years of your life may be many.
I have taught you the way of wisdom;
    I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
When you walk, your step will not be hampered,
    and if you run, you will not stumble.
Keep hold of instruction; do not let go;
    guard her, for she is your life.
Do not enter the path of the wicked,
    and do not walk in the way of evildoers.
Avoid it; do not go on it;
    turn away from it and pass on.
For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
    they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
For they eat the bread of wickedness
    and drink the wine of violence.
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
    which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
    they do not know what they stumble over.
My child, be attentive to my words;
    incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them escape from your sight;
    keep them within your heart.
For they are life to those who find them
    and healing to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
    for from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you crooked speech,
    and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward
    and your gaze be straight before you.
Keep straight the path of your feet,
    and all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
    turn your foot away from evil. (New Revised Standard Version)

Life is not a sprint; it is a marathon. Only those who persevere, and have patience over the course of their lives, will know what wisdom is, and how to live a good life.

We never get to a point in life in which we can simply rest on our laurels and slide effortlessly into end of life, and beyond to eternal life. The wisdom of endurance and humility is needed all the time, because decision-making is continually required.

The Book of Proverbs brings up some constant themes for us to keep in mind with our choices in life: There is always a choice of contrasting ways between wisdom and foolishness. That choice typically involves either a quick solution, or waiting for a good outcome.

In some ways, wisdom is the teacher who keeps giving us remedial instruction. The sage advice of the biblical proverbs continues to remind us of the connection between righteousness, justice, and the good life. Over and over we are instructed to remember the consequences to foolish decisions.

Four times in today’s lesson is the repeated exhortation to “keep:” keep hold of instruction; keep it close to your heart; keep your heart; and keep straight the path of your feet. This has the idea of valuing and treasuring the wise sayings given. To have a hold of the heart is to have hold of the life. For we do what we love.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:20-21, NIV)

The orientation of one’s heart happens from the bottom up, through the formation of habits of desire. Learning to love God takes practice. Walking in the way of wisdom takes time.

The best way to avoid the path of evil, and not throw in your lot with the wicked, is to love righteousness, goodness, and justice. Our love for what is right, good, and just shall win out in the competing voices around us and within us. Peer pressure is no pressure at all, whenever our love is oriented toward wisdom.

You will see evil for the sheer foolishness it is, and will steer clear of it, at all costs. Love brings meaning and connection to life. Love, in the path of wisdom, clarifies one’s own spiritual sense, that there is a moral order to this universe; such a person is determined to not violate that good order.

To reach anyone, the heart must be moved to right thinking and right action. Fear of punishment is a poor means of swaying any person. A parent who threatens a child is being foolish. But a parent who gives wise instruction, along with why it’s important, with a heavy dose of love, is building a relationship which will strengthen the child’s resolve to live justly.

Rules without relationship leads to rebellion. However, the time and attention given to a loving relationship with a child helps them understand the rules, so that they have no intention of stoking a rebellious spirit.

When parents, teachers, faith leaders, mentors, and even corporate bosses aptly communicate a real love and concern, with humility and gentleness, then they are learning the way of wisdom. And this sort of leadership is needed medicine to a sick soul. It makes life good; and work, family, and church a blessing, not a burden.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7, NRSV)

The wise person guards their heart and protects it as the precious possession that it is. They keep to a right and good path of life. Wisdom is their food and drink, their eyes and ears, their thoughts and intentions.

Wise persons refuse to let bitterness and grudge-bearing enter their hearts. Instead, they pay attention to what wisdom teaches them:

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.
Psalm 90:12, NLT

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11, NIV)

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1, NIV)

In a sense, we are all curators of our own hearts. That is, we decide what goes into it, and what goes out. We choose what others will experience of us, and what they won’t. Through curating our hearts, we display what is truly valuable and important to us.

It’s up to you and me to decide whether we will keep on the sure, yet narrow, road of wisdom. Or whether we will take an exit onto another road that leads to the graveyard of souls.

Choose wisely, my friends. Choose wisely.

All-wise and good God: I will trust You for generous wisdom straight paths, and a peaceful heart. I praise you for being a great decision-making God. For it is Your right choices which make all the difference. And I will trust You to order my steps according to the way of justice and righteousness. Amen.

Listen, children, to a father’s instruction,
and pay attention so that you may gain discernment.
Because I hereby give you good instruction,
do not forsake my teaching.

When I was a son to my father,
a tender, only child before my mother,
he taught me, and he said to me:
“Let your heart lay hold of my words;
keep my commands so that you will live.
Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding;
do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak.
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will guard you.
Wisdom is supreme—so acquire wisdom,
and whatever you acquire, acquire understanding!
Esteem her highly and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
She will place a fair garland on your head;
she will bestow a beautiful crown on you.” (New English Translation)

Pay Attention to Instruction

Once, when I was a kid growing up on the farm, I was playing hide-and-seek with my brother and got lost in a cornfield. The stalks were taller than me, and I couldn’t jump up and try to see over them. I started to panic.

Then, I got my wits about me and looked straight up into the sky. Even though I was only seven or eight years old, I had looked up at the sky a bajillion times in my short lifetime. My dad had taught me how to read the sky and the weather above us. Fortunately, I had listened well and paid attention to all those times we looked up together.

I knew that the position of the sun in the bright blue sky would give me a fixed point of direction. Once I did that, I walked in the direction I was certain would take me out of the cornfield, trying not to let fear take hold of me. In no time at all, I was out. I lost the game of hide-and-seek. But I didn’t care.

Wisdom is personified in the book of Proverbs as a sage woman and a discerning counselor for whom we must hear and heed her advice.

In the Old Testament, wisdom is the practical daily application of knowledge and understanding. It’s the ability to take the knowledge of God and use it in everyday life in a way that leads to human peace, contentment, and flourishing. There are two important aspects to wisdom.

Pay Attention to Knowledge

First, the individual must possess some body of knowledge. If we are ignorant (without knowledge) then we have no ability to exercise wisdom. More than once, I rescued cousins and friends from the cornfield while playing hide-and-seek, because they didn’t have the same understanding of the sky that I did.

So, it’s absolutely imperative for us to actively seek understanding. It’s not going to simply drop into our lap. We must purposely strive to look up and see the Son, to view life from God’s perspective, and to put ourselves in another person’s shoes.

To gain wisdom, we must become readers, listeners, and devoted learners. Why? Because without books to read, without spiritual directors to consult and listen to, and without adopting the humble posture of learning from others, we will never realize wisdom.

The telltale sign of one who fails to read, listen, and learn, is that they continually opine on everything with no evidence to back up their opinions, no insight into the human condition, and no grace in their language. In the book of Proverbs, such as a person is labeled the “fool.”

Pay Attention to Behavior

The second aspect to wisdom is that the individual must use the acquired knowledge to have good behavior and to live well.

Knowledge by itself, apart from actual practical use, only produces puffed-up pride (1 Corinthians 8:1). The reason for accumulating understanding is to use it for the welfare of others, for the benefit of the common good.

We have quite enough preening peacocks in this world who have answers for every earthly problem under the sun. This world needs much less of them, and more of those who seek the humility that comes from biblical wisdom. As the Apostle James in the New Testament once put it, we must be doers of the Word and not hearers only (James 1:22).

Wisdom is realized whenever there is learning that has come through both the head and the hands. Proverbs is a very good place to begin constructing a life of wisdom. Reading one chapter a day, for one month, will get you through the entire book.

Make a wise plan to carefully go through Proverbs sometime this spring or summer. You’ll be glad you did. And so will those around you.

Pay Attention to Prayer

God of all wisdom, save me from pride and arrogance, and take me to the place where Christ’s humility is center stage, where I’m lifting up clean hands and a pure heart to you.

Spirit of discernment, take me to the place where I’m no longer looking with panic or anxiety at the cornfields and situations I face, but look up to you, where I can see clearly, and my decisions are flooded with your bright light, truth, and justice.

Jesus, teacher of all that is right and good, I submit to your instruction and humbly seek to live into your words and ways. I keep my ears open to receive your counsel, my heart open to receive your eternal wisdom, and my eyes open to see your risen and ascended glory.

Just, right, and wise God – Father, Son, and Spirit, the God whom I serve – know that I love wisdom. I desire it more than money, fame, or power. Help me to use biblical common sense, spiritual savvy, and Scriptural discernment so that I might learn the good and the beautiful. Amen.

Rev. Tim Ehrhardt

Tag: proverbs 4

Keep Hold of Wisdom (Proverbs 4:10-27)