Most of us want to feel safe. At times we enjoy the thrill of risk; that’s why amusement parks prosper. But when we pull up to the stop sign in an unfamiliar neighborhood, we check our door locks. Fear of the future or the unknown may overwhelm. Before we head toward whatever is before us, we try to learn all we can so we feel safer.
The book of Proverbs is replete with wise counsel and the encouragement to seek and value wisdom. It also presents benefits from doing so. Proverbs 4:5-9 reads, “Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you. . . . Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.” Your pursuit of wisdom and your obedience to it are the path to safety, the only assurance of protection in your future.
In contrast, wisdom’s words in Proverbs 1:24-32 foretell anything but protection for those who ignore her. In fact, the consequences are devastating: “Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them.”
But verse 33 gives the clear path away from these disasters by assuring us that if we listen to wisdom, we “will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” The blessed promise of God’s direction in Proverbs 3:5-6 is conditional on your acknowledgment of God “in all your ways” and your trust in God “with all your heart.” That acknowledgment and trust will help you to “not lean on your own understanding.”
The more of God’s wisdom you learn and practice, the safer you are.