For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.
Summary: Understanding that “death” has a double meaning helps us understand the Genesis story about Adam and Eve’s sin. It also helps us to understand what the “second death” means and why we need to keep our eyes on God and listen to Wisdom.
The problem with being a human is that it is hard to tell if we are dead or alive. Because of the Adam and Eve eating from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden, they died. (They did not die physically, of course, but spiritually (Gen 2:17).) Their innocence before God was shattered, and they were suddenly ashamed of being naked (Gen 3:7). Enticed by the serpent, humanity fell from grace, and Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden (Gen 3:23).
Since then, we have been running around dead.
Why are you laughing? Millions of people go about their lives not knowing that they are dead. The only hope for anyone is that God has mercy on us and restores us to life.
How does that happen?
One way God provides for us is by helping us understand we need to be right with Him. Eternity is at stake.
How we get right with our Creator is a long story. The short answer today is Jesus. Acknowledging Jesus as Lord and Savior is the first step to a new and eternal life. Before Jesus’ time on earth, the answer is more complicated. Part of the answer involves knowing what Wisdom is.
The gift of the forbidden fruit was the ability to see both good and evil (Gen 3:5). The curse of being able to see evil is that we can now do evil. We have a choice that involves our heart as well as our will.
Choosing to do evil sets us up for a whole smorgasbord of unforeseen consequences. One of them is guilt, and guilt is followed closely by insecurity. Insecurity leads to anxiety, and anxiety is the doorway to worry. When we are anxious and insecure, when we constantly worry, we cannot make good decisions. We do not rest well or have peace.
The other consequence that we cannot see (until it is too late) is that choosing to do evil leads to death. Not physical death, but eternal death. This is what the Bible calls the “second death” (Rev 20:14). This is the result of the “waywardness of the simple” and the “complacency of fools.”
There is a path that leads to a life of “safety … [and] ease, without fear of harm.” Not just for today, but for eternity. This path begins at the signpost that says “Wisdom – This Way.”
What is it that the simple and the fools want besides what Wisdom offers? I do not know and I do not want to know. The price is too high. I like being able to live in safety, be at ease, and live without fear of harm.
Application: Listen to Wisdom. The benefits are awesome!
Food for Thought: How do we listen to wisdom?
I’m going to give you my golden star answer. Pray? My second best answer is scripture?
Tim,
Learning to listen while I pray was a life changing revelation for me. Of course everything God’s Holy Spirit reveals to us in prayer is going to qualify as wisdom.
Those are very good answers T. It is not rocket science. It is very simple, just not easy. There is no reason to make the answer too complex. We listen to wisdom through the disciplines – such as Scripture, prayer, worship, service, fellowship, teaching, etc. Listening to wisdom and receiving wisdom are two different things. Matthew 7: 24 – 27; Luke 6: 46; James 1: 19 – 27.
Rich,
Very well said! Actively listening requires a mind that is engaged with what is being said. I have to be careful otherwise I can find myself reading God’s Word and not paying attention. Instead of listening I am thinking about something else. Not good!!
01-30-2022, Proverbs 1:32-33, How do we listen to wisdom?
Mr.T broke it down for us pretty well, Prayer and Scripture! God had Paul write, we should focus on shedding our sins and patiently run the race before us, growth in Christ.
Hebrews 12:1
DEFINING GODS WISDOM:
In the Old Testament, Wisdom is personified as an attribute of God. Christ is a person within the Holy Trinity. He became flesh and is identified by God as “ Wisdom.”
John 1:1, 1:14-18, 1 Corinthians 1:24,1:30, Colossians 2:3, James 3:17
Jesus told us He would send the Holy Spirit, “ another Helper “ who will be with us FOREVER. He would guide us into all truth. I believe it is His “still small voice” that inner voice speaking to our hearts that we listen to.
John 14:16, 16:13-14, 1 Kings 19:11-12
Every believer has heard and responded to the voice of Wisdom, the “still small voice” of the Holy Spirit, and received Christ, who has become our Wisdom from God. Our salvation, righteousness, and holiness. God unites each with Christ and as we prayerfully study His word, we will “little by little” die to self and grow in Christ.
Ron,
You keep pulling gems out of your brain and sharing them here. Thank you!
I love the statement, “Wisdom is personified as an attribute of God.”
I agree with y’all, especially with R’s comment. Listening is different than receiving, I’d even say that receiving is different than applying.
I listened to a podcast once about advice. The hosts talked about different people who have given them good advice. How the person who gives it and the way it is given changes if they receive the advice as wisdom or not. (Receiving something doesn’t automatically make it wisdom, and rejecting something doesn’t always mean it’s not wisdom, which is probably the juxtaposition poked at by today’s question) But then one day something happens and the voice plays over in their head speaking the wisdom and they have a new choice. To do it or not to do it.
It was all told in funny stories and what not, but the same hold true for God’s word. We start our faith at level 1(the most important level): God is real and sin is real and Jesus is real and His death gives me life. Well, each new piece of wisdom that is revealed to us in scripture, or the pressing of the Spirit, we go through that whole process. I heard it; is it wisdom, is it true? Yes. Cool now are you willing to try it out in real life? Until we hear, receive, and apply then we haven’t “leveled up”…..
Thank God for second chances!
I agree. Receiving is different than applying. Well said.
A —
You have presented an interesting perspective here. Your premise as I understand it is:
1. Is it true?
2. If yes, am I willing to apply it?
3. Apply it.
Your point is excellent. We need to apply the wisdom for it to have value.
The question that comes to mind has to do with the first condition. Who decides if it is true? If we are talking about secular wisdom, then I agree with your premise completely. We have to screen all information through our own value system.
However, if we are talking about biblical wisdom, I would suggest a minor alteration.
1. Biblical wisdom is accepted as true because God’s Word is true.
2. Do I understand it correctly?
3. Apply it.
In this second approach, God gets the benefit of the doubt. If he says it, it is true. In this case, the question is not, “do I judge this by my value system” but “how do I understand God’s value system?”
(Romans 12:2)
Such great comments this morning. I don’t know that I can add much to what has already been said. I feel like I have been at “Level One” for years. I advance forward to what may be “Level Two,” but as Christians sometimes do, I have fallen backwards sometimes to Level One.
As I read the bible more in my life, that “still small voice” inside of me gets louder and louder to the point I end up with a nagging voice if I don’t follow what the still small voice was leading me to do the first time. Looking back, I have come to realize it was there my whole life, I just didn’t realize it was the Holy Spirit.
Prayer, scripture and the still small voice are how I listen to God’s wisdom over. It’s what I use to drown out the world’s lack of wisdom.
“Prayer, scripture and the still small voice are how I listen to God’s wisdom over. It’s what I use to drown out the world’s lack of wisdom.”
Darla —
Thank you for sharing! I love that you are able to “drown out” the world’s voice with God’s voice. To my mind it is almost like there are two worlds and we get to choose which one we want to be in. While we are in this life we can hear the muffled sounds of the other world.
From the worldly side we hear the muffled sound of God calling us to be with him. From the Christian side we hear the dull, dead murmur of the world clamoring for our attention, trying to entice us back to the path of death.
I am so very thankful that God’s light continues to shine, calling all of his Creation to New Life in his Son, Jesus Christ.