Theological Commentary: Click Here
Today we
start to lose the proverbs that speak in terms of opposites and simply turn to
stated wisdom. The topics, however,
continue to bounce around a good bit. There
is a strong bit of focus upon the ways of the Lord in the first few proverbs.
The challenge
set forth in the first proverb is wonderful.
To humans belong the plans of the heart, but the proper answers of the
tongue come from the Lord. In other
words, we as human beings have all kinds of fantasies, dreams, hopes,
aspirations, and plans. We have thoughts
that we would love to have become reality.
Our hearts are full of what might happen in our life. Reality, though, belongs to the Lord. Wisdom is something that belongs to the
domain of God. Truth is a concept that
God knows. We are the chieftain of our
own dreams and aspirations; God is king over truth and reality.
This leads
directly into the second proverb. A
person’s ways seem right to them, but the Lord is the only one qualified to
truly weigh them out. I use this proverb
all the time in teaching. How many
people truly ever sit back and say to themselves, “No, that thought I had just
now simply doesn’t make any sense at all?”
The only people capable of doing that are people who are trained is
wisdom. Most people, myself included, have
a natural disposition to think that their thoughts make sense! Obviously, if I have a thought, then it must
be logical, right? Absolutely not! Human beings must be trained in logic. We must be taught wisdom. Only the Lord – and the ways of the Lord –
are truly capable of comparing what is good and what is truly evil.
How do we
respond, then? Commit our plans to the
Lord. In other words, go ahead and
dream. Have your fantasies. Aspire to do great things. Remember, though, to always stop and ask God
if the aspiration, dream, or fantasy is something that the Lord thinks is a
good idea first. There is nothing wrong
with dreaming or thinking or talking. Just
remember that some dreams and hopes sound cool in the immediate future but we
aren’t able to realize the lasting impacts of our decisions. We can’t possibly consider every angle of every
hope. We need the perspective of the
Lord to tell us what is good or bad.
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