guidance

You are a person of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance (continue doing something even though it may be difficult), and gentleness. – 1 Timothy 6:11

20 Follow the steps of good men instead,
    and stay on the paths of the righteous.
21 For only the godly will live in the land,
    and those with integrity will remain in it.
22 But the wicked will be removed from the land,
    and the treacherous will be uprooted. – Proverbs 2:20-22

The title for Proverbs Chapter 2, as seen in many Bible translations, is the Benefits of Wisdom.

Wisdom’s purpose is to guide and teach us. As mentioned in the introduction of Proverbs, http://wp.me/p5nZpi-1j, Proverbs are principles, not promises.

A principle is a statement telling someone of a likely/probable outcome. Example = “if you play with fire you’re going to get burned.”

A promise is a statement telling someone of a definite outcome. Example = “if you put your bare hand into the fire, your skin will be burned.”

Thankfully, God has given us the ultimate travel guide, The Bible. And additionally, He has given us godly/wise people to help us along our journey. Following their steps, verse 20 – Follow the steps of good men instead, and stay on the paths of the righteous, can help us avoid the bumps and “potholes” of life. They might offer wise advice saying, “when I was younger, I thought it was ok to tell my friend just what I felt about them. But then I realized I didn’t have all the pieces of the puzzle when I spouted off. I felt so dumb at that point, and wished I could have taken back the nasty words I said, but it was too late. I tried speaking my mind, and I should have remember the saying, we have one mouth and two ears, so listen twice as much as you talk.”

Advice given to us by a godly, trusted, life-experienced person –

Let wisdom enter your heart. Let knowledge fill you with joy. Allow wise choices to watch over you, and understanding to keep you safe. – Proverbs 2:10-1, http://wp.me/p5nZpi-6P

LORD Almighty, blessed are those who trust in you. – Psalm 84:12

29)) Because they hated knowledge
    and did not choose to fear the Lord,
30)) and they would have none of my counsel
    and despised all my reproof,
31))  THEREFORE, they shall eat the fruit of their way,
    and have their fill of their own devices.
32)) For the simple are killed by their turning away,
    and the complacency of fools destroys them;
33)) BUT whoever listens to me will dwell secure
    and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

We learned from verse 25, http://wp.me/p5nZpi-5E, that – People turn away from all my advice. They wouldn’t accept my warning. And here again in verse 30 we read, they despised all my counsel.
All people are in search of a road that leads to “happiness”. Yet, in verses 29-33, we read that people often end up making choices that take them on a curvy path. Their path ends up being curvy because the choose their own way vs. the Creator’s counsel and guidance – v.30.

The result of following our own way: They’ll GET their own way, for better or worse. Sadly, as verse 32 says, the simple are killed by turning away, by doing their own thing. Instead of heeding the warnings, like the stove is hot – don’t touch it, they proceed to touch, and… Again, it’s not that the person in this illustration was not warned, he was, yet he chose his own way. In this case, and often in our everyday choices, the result was/can be painful.