If there is anything we’ve picked up in this walk through Proverbs, I trust it is this: Wisdom comes from God. That is why today’s verse should be a given, but I believe it deserves extra attention.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 14:12 ESV)
The I’ve-got-this trap
As of this writing, I’m watching two of my grandchildren move toward the age of two. I love watching them soak in vocabulary and all that they learn from their parents. Without prejudice, I can say they are very smart kids. They are good children and listen to their parents.
Yet, with their growth comes something else—a bit of a rebellious streak—the possibility of open disobedience. It’s not full-blown by any means. I watch it as an observer, and realize the Genesis-Three effect on these precious souls. They are not unique to this phenomenon, by any means. I see it, on a regular basis, in the preschool area of my local church, when I’m watching 1s and 2s during the worship service.
It’s the “I’ve-got-this” attitude of a child who refuses help or direction, and it only gets worse as he grows unchecked by the Word of God.
Because I lived many years in the Middle East and North Africa, I saw the results of such lives, especially of boys, who were never reined in by parents because of cultural norms. What could have been expressions of simple independence became full-blown refusal to accept any correction or advice. A mother’s guiding hand was slapped aside, and boys raced into manhood unrestrained. Each lived “as he sought fit in his own eyes,” as did Israel during the time of the judges.
We know how that turned out for Israel, and it should be an indication of how we all will end up if we fail to heed the words of Wisdom. “There is a way that seems right to a man…”
Change to your story’s end is possible
We know from this verse that the man who has his own way over God’s will end up spending eternity separated from all that is good and beautiful. We also know that this verse in Proverbs reflects what we’ve seen from the whole of Scripture: Walking in the flesh leads to death. What leads to life? The source of wisdom—Jesus. After all, he told us: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
No one on this earth has to continue to live in the way that seems right but leads to death. Jesus made it possible to change course; to transform “my way or the highway” to “His way is the only way.” He showed us what living by God’s way looks like.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:3-11)
The way of wisdom comes by decreasing self and increasing the mindset of Christ. We can do this through His grace and power, given us by His Spirit, because “it is God who works in [us], both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).
As we turn from the way that seemed right to us, we find life in The Way that leads to life—abundant, eternal life in Jesus Christ.
Grace and Peace
If you missed the last Friday Focus post, click HERE, or start this Walking in Wisdom series from the beginning.
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