By James Chambless, Guest Columnist
One of the first pieces of advice Solomon gives is so obvious that some people miss it. “My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.” (Proverbs 1:10)
Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying “I can resist anything but temptation.” I think people who don’t struggle with temptations must not be resisting them either. Solomon is stating at the outset of this book of wisdom that temptations are going to come and that we should resist them. Why? Because you can’t choose both folly and wisdom. If you choose to act foolishly, you are rejecting wisdom. If you choose to act wisely, you are rejecting folly.
You have to make a decision. You have to decide which you will do. Will I be wise or act foolishly? Accepting both is not a viable option.
One day I picked one of my twins up after school while his brother had practice. He had a big test that day, so when he got in the truck, I asked him how he did. He had assured me previously that this test was going to be easy, but now he was disappointed in his grade. We were quiet for a minute and then he said “I think I would have done better if I had known more of the information.” Well, I can’t argue with that. The problem we often have is that we want to believe things are going to be simple but they aren’t. It’s not a new problem. It is as old as the Old Testament.
“How long will you simple ones love your simple ways?” Proverbs 1:22
Things are seldom as simple as we would like them to be. The more we know about life, the more complicated it seems. Often times, the more complicated things become, the more we need good advice. Sometimes things are most complicated when we have refused to heed that good advice. Listening to wise counsel, before or after we have done something foolish, is always a good decision and a step in the right direction.
There are times, however, when we have to make a choice and it isn’t immediately obvious which option is the path of wisdom and which one will lead to folly. I have found when that happens, the option that requires the most faith is the choice that will contain the most blessings. It takes a great deal of courage to choose wisdom because it is usually the hardest choice to make. If you ask the wisest people you know though, they will tell you that the hard things and the right things are usually the same things. Listen to that wisdom and do the next right thing.
You won’t regret it.
[August-10-2021]
Posted in 
