Proverbs 1:32-33
“For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; 33 but whoever listens to [wisdom] will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”
I want to “dwell secure” and “be at ease, without dread of disaster,” how do I do that? I believe it is to be growing wise, not to be a fool or a simpleton, but how to avoid that? Proverbs 1 begins to unwrap this for us if we take a look at what each looks like.
From Proverbs 1 we can learn a few things about the foolish person. In verse 7 we learn that the foolish person despises wisdom and instruction. If you are like me, you are already at verse 7 determining in your mind that you do not want to be like the foolish person here. In verse 22 it says that the foolish persons hates knowledge. Hates knowledge? This too seems like a bad way to live, hating knowledge. So a fool is such because they despise wisdom, don’t want to be instructed by anyone, they don’t want to learn anything and they are destroyed in the end by their complacency, unaware of danger. I don’t want to be a fool.
Proverbs 1 also gives us some insight into being called a simpleton. Verse 4 indicates that the simple need prudence and will be killed by their turning away. Webster’s Dictionary describes prudence as “the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason.” It is my understanding that from the time we are born until we reach adulthood this is our main goal. As people this is our goal, so it would seem a simpleton never quite reaches this goal. I also do not want to be a simpleton.
So, how does one grow wise? Proverbs 1:7 indicates that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Also, verse 23 indicates that turning at reproof will bring on more wisdom, and listening to a father’s instruction and a mother’s teaching are like putting on jewels. Verse 10 encourages us to keep from following sinners when they entice us. In short, obeying our parents and wiser elders, searching out wisdom, and above all, a healthy fear of the Lord are good places to start on our path to spiritual and personal wisdom. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I want to grow wise and will seek to do so via God’s perscription here.
Lord, help me to recongnize wise instruction when I hear it and follow it. Help me to turn from sin and those who would entice me. May my fear of you be always on my mind so that I may not sin against you. Show me the way to listen to wisdom and dwell secure and at ease without dread of disaster.
