Proverbs 4

More on Wisdom… Proverbs 4

Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or swerve from them.
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding…

When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
when you run, you will not stumble.

Get Wisdom – it does a body good. That’s how I would market this chapter to the world. Yeah, it’s a pretty bad Christianizing of the Milk marketing campaign, but that seems to sum up what Solomon is saying here. If you seek wisdom and seek it with all your heart it will protect you, watch over you and your steps will not be hampered and you will not stumble when you run.

When we just run through life on our own, we tend to stumble and fall and falter. But if we seek Wisdom, true Wisdom from God our steps are guided.

Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.

Prov. 4:23-27 tells us that we must guard our heart. Don’t give into the the perversions or wrong turns that may come so easily in this world. I we apply the first portion of the chapter, the second half becomes a lot easier. If we fill our heart, minds and souls with the things of God, it gives the Devil a lot less wiggle room and a lot less time to sneak his temptations in there.

As we talked about last Wednesday morning, we tend to simply focus on what we shouldn’t be doing, rather than focus on the things we should be doing. We tend to say, “Ok Christianity means I can’t do this, this, this and certainly not this.” But the more we focus on not doing it, the more likely we are to end up doing it – because that’s all we’re focused on.

I think of it like a diet. If I know I’m not supposed to eat cake and I go somewhere where there is cake I can tell myself over and over and over again I won’t eat it – but the more I think about it, the more I crave it. If instead of thinking about the cake I eat healthier foods like fruit and veggies, before long I’m to full to even want to think about the cake. That’s wise dieting. Don’t let yourself get hungry when you’re going to be surrounded by temptations. Fill your tummy with good stuff before you even have a chance to be tempted.

The same goes for life. If you know you’re going to be tempted to watch or read something you shouldn’t, fill your mind with those things you know are good for you and you’ll have a lot less time to waste on those things that aren’t so good for you.