REFLECTIONS ON THE PROVERBS
(Comments on passages from the Old Testament book of Proverbs that have jumped out at me in my studies through the years.)

Proverbs 4:23:
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

With our heart, as well as with our minds and with computers, garbage in, garbage out. The condition of our hearts will determine how we live. Jesus speaks of this in Luke 6:45:
“The good person out of the good treasures of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of the evil treasure, produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.”

When we focus on God and on what is good, our hearts are strengthened and good things flow from us--no matter what the circumstances of our lives. In the New Testament, Paul says, "...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4:8)

Proverbs 4:26-27:
"Keep straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil."

These verses are a good reminder for me. I know that I have unhealthy levels of uncertainty in my life precisely in those times when I have been lax and neglectful of my relationship with Christ and of the things that He shows me through prayer, Bible-reading, worship, and the advice of people more grown-up in their faith lives. These lines contain a promise that if we're steadfast, all our “ways will be sure,” one would surmise even when we feel unsteady and unsure of ourselves. We need to keep following Christ: He knows where we're going.

Proverbs 5:6:
"She does not keep straight to the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it."

These words about the “loose woman” no doubt apply to any of us when we defiantly walk away from God, seeking our own path. The verse says, “her ways wander, and she does not know it.” I have learned that sin makes us delusional. Many times, when I do the things that I know are wrong I don't realize it at the moment because by wandering away from God, I've created some elaborate and personally convincing rationalization. When that happens to us, we think that we're in control when we’re most imprisoned: trapped and we don't even know it. By contrast, when we surrender to Christ, He frees us to become ourselves and we see things with greater clarity. (Chrck out: Proverbs 5:22-23)