You’re Not That Impressive

SYNOPSIS: Your biggest worry today is not the economy, inflation, the threat of another world war, climate change, or an enemy. It is you! But if in things big and small you will run to God and run from evil, you will be on the way to a life of success, satisfaction, and significance.

Moments With God // Proverbs 3:7

Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

“We have met the enemy, and he is us!” That’s the famous line from the long-running Pogo comic strip. And that is pretty much the truth about us, isn’t it? We’re our own worst enemy. And the sooner we come to grips with that, the sooner we can get on the road to a satisfying and successful experience of life.

For that very reason, King Solomon said that we shouldn’t “assume that we know it all” (Proverbs 3:7, MSG) because you know the old saying about what happens when we “assume”. Rather, Solomon says we are to do two things:

1. We are to run to God—that’s what it means to fear the Lord, which is a recurring theme in these early chapters of Proverbs.
2. We are to run from evil—that’s a big part of what the Bible calls wisdom. As Paul exhorted Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2, “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

There it is: run to God and everything that is good and run from anything that would steer you into the ditch of foolish and immoral living.

The more famous verses that go before and come after Proverbs 3:7 are important to note here. Proverbs 3:5-6 instruct us as to how we can “run to God”: We are not to rely on our own smarts—we’re not that impressive anyway—we are to make God the first, continual and final source of authority in our lives. If we do that, God himself guarantees to direct our decisions.

When God directs the daily decisions of our lives, then he also takes responsibility for the outcome. Proverbs 3:8-10 tells us that a God-directed life will produce a body that is lean and mean with a healthy sheen and a wallet that is fat. For real, just take a look at verses 8 and 10 from The Message

Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life … [and] your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.

That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it! If that is the outcome of running to God and running from evil, I’ll take that God-directed life over the me-directed life any day. How about you?

So, my friend, your biggest worry today is not the economy, inflation, the threat of another world war, climate change, or some enemy. It is you! But if in things big and small you will run to God and run from evil, you will be on the way to a life of success, satisfaction, and significance.