The Proverbs :: A Guidebook for MenSample

The book of Proverbs candidly opens with your reason for being here, a set of explanations of the outcomes that await you if you stay the course and root this wisdom deep in your heart.

You will:

Gain wisdom and instruction for understanding words of insight.
Receive instructions for prudent behavior, a how-to guide for doing what is just and fair.
Learn to give prudence to those who look to you for it.
Learn to listen.
Deepen your ability to understand Proverbs and Parables.

And yet, even with all those promised benefits, Solomon immediately pivots, personifying Wisdom as a woman with a warning. Pay close attention and watch as Lady Wisdom echoes Solomon’s declaration at the start of the book. See how she gets right to the heart of the matter:

How commonly do we, as men, wait to seek the wisdom of God until something has gone wrong?

“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?” she asks, warning us that the time to ask for forgiveness and guidance has passed us time and time again.

Our preoccupation with going our own way while things are good is nothing new to Wisdom. She’s seen it billions of times, and the consequences have been dire. Those who do not choose to fear the Lord have been met with silence when “calamity overtakes you like a storm.”

This way of living, where one could find themselves thrashed about by whatever circumstance comes their way, is not the way God desires His sons to live. Today, Wisdom eagerly points us to a life built soundly on the advice of the Lord.

The way forward? Repent of your wandering and ask earnestly for God’s guidance. You are not too far gone, and no mistake is unredeemable through the power of God. Heed Wisdom’s call today, and let today be your first step lit by the lantern of God’s divine wisdom.

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Lord, I’m grateful for this wake-up call today. I’m thankful that You are kind enough to remind me to leave my old ways behind. I’m grateful that You invite me to ask for Your thoughts and teachings and that You promise to give them freely. I don’t want to make my way through life confident in Christ but arrogant in my abilities, eventually crumbling under the weight of circumstance. Today, I choose to fear the Lord, to marvel at Your surpassing knowledge, and I ask You to light my path.