“Now therefore, listen to me, my children, for blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not disdain it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the LORD; but he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; all those who hate me love death.”
The blessings of wisdom come naturally. As you seek wisdom and learn to be wise, wisdom will guide you in right decisions which will lead to blessing. Blessings are a by-product of wise living.
There are constant opportunities to learn to be wise. Instruction can come from the Bible (especially the Bible), parents, your pastor, etc. When you hear instruction you have two paths: be wise or disdain it.
The first path is the one where you listen to it and learn from it. You are choosing to be wise. You are the blessed man who listens, watches, and waits for wisdom. You are anxious to fill your life with wisdom. You have a love for wisdom. You will find life and obtain favor from the Lord.
The second path you can take when you hear instruction is to disdain it. If you choose to disdain instruction, you will be the man at the end of the passage who sins against wisdom. You wrong your own soul. You will not find blessings because you hated wisdom, which is the same as loving death.
It is hard to understand why someone would choose the second path, but it happens with most people. Pride may cause someone not to listen to instruction. This person may think they know it all & therefore refuse to listen. This is frequently seen in rebellious teenagers who arrogantly refuse to listen to their parents. But it is also seen in Christians, who refuse to listen to God. They hate hearing the Bible taught and instead want someone to ‘tickle their ears’ with feel good messages. These Christians will never become wise.
Another reason some people choose the second path and disdain wisdom is because they are lazy. The attitude here is that they want wisdom now. But wisdom comes over time. You must seek wisdom diligently and patiently. You must “listen, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.” It takes work of the long haul. Few Christians are willing to spend lots of time in the Word of God studying to show themselves approved. But the effort required pales in comparison to the riches you will gain for doing so.
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Related Scriptures: Psalm 27:4; Proverbs 3:13-18; Acts 17:11; Romans 10:16-17
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But goodness alone is never enough. A hard cold wisdom is required, too, for goodness to accomplish good. Goodness without wisdom invariably accomplishes evil. – Robert Heinlein
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