“The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.” (Pr 14:8 AV)
The meaning of the word ‘understand’ here means to
examine and discern. The meaning of the
word ‘way’ here means a road. This road
is the current one the traveler is traveling as well as the road he must travel
to get to the desired end. Solomon is
sharing very wise advice for his sons here.
As he always does, Solomon is thinking long-term. Not only should his children consider the
current circumstances of life which they are living, but they must also
consider the future and where it might be they are heading. They are to consider these things in the
light of one little word; his. The implication
here is the ‘way’ is the ‘way’ for the individual. We all have similar
ways. These ways are shared. There is only one plan of salvation and all
must follow that way or there is no heavenly home for us. There are ways of sanctification that have no
variation. There are roles we are to
fulfill like a father, mother, or employee that are common to all of us. But there are other ways that are unique to
us. A calling of life can be
unique. Those areas of specific sanctification
all roled up as a group are specific to us.
What one person needs to overcome is not necessarily the same as someone
else. There are steps of faith that are
unique to us. To know where we are and where
we are going is the manifestation of wisdom.
There was this app I used to play on my smartphone. The object of the game was to see how far you
could travel without getting into an accident.
There were two views one could use.
A road-level view that is similar to how we experience driving in real life. Then there was the aerial view which allowed
a much wider field of view and forward observation of the situation. As is obvious, the aerial view gave a far
greater advantage in the contest. One
could plan much further ahead before a lane change was made. In the aerial view, there was additional
information. The player could see the
different speeds of the obstructing traffic far enough in advance that proper
lane changes came early enough to keep the player out of trouble. After a while, playing it got rather boring. So, the player switched to a road-level view so
the challenge became more difficult. One
could zip in and out of traffic to get ahead of the crowd. In this view, attention to one’s immediate
surroundings was far more important than looking further ahead. In the aerial view, the player could ignore
his immediate surroundings and look ahead.
Needless to say, I stopped playing that app when I noticed what I had
been doing on my phone I was doing in real life. Don’t need a ticket or an accident.
In life, both views are essential. Wisdom would suggest we examine our current
situation and check it against the infallible word of God. Wisdom would require we examine what we are
doing and why we are doing it. Wisdom
would look at our current condition and be sure that all around us and in us is
as it should be. Like driving. I was instructed to move your eyes about. Keep your eyes on the road ahead, but also
look to the side and behind you. However,
if we are only looking at our immediate situation, we will miss a turn-off or
exit. Wisdom understands there is a
way. It is our way. It doesn’t belong to anyone else. By and large, that is exactly the condition
of our travels. I live in
Milwaukee. There is a lot of traffic. There are thousands of other vehicles on the
road in my immediate surroundings.
However, none of them is going to the exact spot at which I will
arrive. Even if the majority are headed
to the local Walmart, two cars cannot occupy the same space. This is my way. This is no one else’s way. If I am to show wisdom, there must be an
understanding of my immediate situation as well as the direction in which I
must travel to get where I want to go.
Or, in the matter of life, where God wants me to go.
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