Snare or Safety.

“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.”
-Proverbs 29:25

The fear of man is like a snare because if I repeatedly give in to the opinion of others in order to please them, I forfeit my own convictions and preferences. And this kind of laying down my life is not a loving kind (as Jesus suggests in John 15:13 ), but a selfish one. It is designed to win the favor of others, but it is a false win. If people like me because I bend over backward to please them, it is a lie because what they like is not me, but a fabricated version of me that I think they would like.

This verse contrasts fear of man with the safety of trusting in the Lord. This suggests that what fear of man wants is to find refuge in the eyes and opinions of others. Yet it makes very clear that such safety and security of identity is found in trusting the Lord. Trust in what others think is a trap that keeps you in an endless cycle of trial and error, success and failure. It is a never-ending battle to make it to the inner circle of which we deem worthy to be part.

This verse screams out “You have a perfect identity as one beloved of God! You need not do anything else! You need not be other than that which you are in Christ! He is your refuge and strength! He is the rock upon which the foundation of who you truly are is laid. Don’t build your life out of the flimsy materials of the opinions of your peers! Take up the truth and rejoice in the reality of who you are in Christ Jesus! You are not great! You are not mighty. You are not beautiful or smart or wealthy – EXCEPT as you stand in Christ, a new creature, a re-created worshipper, a son of the most High God!”

That is true safety worth trusting in!

The Excellence of Wisdom – Proverbs 8

Proverbs 8

Proverbs 8 is written as if wisdom is a woman, and in that respect, it is a personification of the desirable character qualities of wisdom and understanding, which are used synonymously in this passage.

• v 1-3: These verses set up the picture in our minds as Wisdom and Understanding calling out to us and imploring us to listen.
• v 4-7: Wisdom prepares to speak, saying that She is about to speak excellent, true, and good things to men. Her “mouth” only speaks righteousness and no things perverse.
• v 8-11: (v9) The “words” of wisdom are plain to him who understands; this sounds a bit like using the word in a definition, but what it is saying is that a person who has an attitude of receiving correction and instruction will know how to go about changing his actions and applying the wisdom he is hearing. (v10-11) Knowledge and wisdom are better than treasure; the lessons that may be learned from receiving a rebuke or advice from someone who would share Biblical wisdom and truth with you are invaluable. No worldly thing we can desire can compare to how valuable wisdom is.
• v 12-14: Wisdom, prudence, knowledge and discretion are all words used in this proverb. These words may help us to better understand the concept of wisdom: care, caution and good judgement; considering the future; careful management;
  • Ultimately, we must see that wisdom is not something we can attain, but rather like many other character qualities that the Bible instructs us to desire, we must pursue it. This means we must seek to change our attitude toward rebuke, instruction, and advice and become people that are teachable.
  • (v13) “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;” – As Christians we must demonstrate our love for God and seek to live out the new life that He wants for us by repenting of sin. We can think of this as this: If you really respect God, you must hate what He hates…sin. Furthermore, Jesus tells us in John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest (reveal) Myself to him. (NKJV)” If we love Jesus, we will want to repent and want to obey.
    • The speaker of this proverb also explains in the rest of v13 that it is specifically pride, arrogance, and a perverse mouth that Wisdom hates.
• v 15-21: Kings and rulers do so by wisdom (if they are good leaders)
  • Those who diligently seek wisdom will find it.
  • Riches and honor are a result of utilizing discretion and good judgment with wisdom.
• v22-31: Wisdom explains how She was possessed by God even before the Earth was made. Wisdom is a characteristic of God and He graciously gives it to all who ask it of Him. This principle is explained in James 1:5
• v 32-36:
  • “Blessed”is a word that the writers of the Bible often uses for the benefit of someone, or for lifting someone up in honor and respect. Used here, the principle is that those who exercise and pursue wisdom will reap great benefits and receive them in various ways from God.
  • “Hear instruction and be wise, and do not disdain it” – This is the verse that urges us to be teachable and humble, not thinking too highly of ourselves that we will not listen to someone who would share advice with us that he/she has obtained from experience.

It is very arrogant and prideful to not listen to advice. If that’s you, you’re wrong and need to repent.  Rather, let us practice humility and wisdom at the same time by listening to what others would say to us in their advice and pray about it and ask that God would make it clear what we should take from it. I’m not saying that we should blindly accept and regard every bit of advice that people give us.  The principle is to consider who is speaking to us and to weigh it with what we know to determine if it is godly instruction that will help make us more like Jesus.  If you don’t know what to think of it, it is wise to ask someone you trust and know is wise and loves Jesus.  This person could be a pastor or a Bible study leader or deacon or parent, just someone you know who exercises discretion and wisdom.