Proverbs 13:14

Proverbs 13:14 "The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death."

Human nature instinctively hates law.  It wants justice but it loathes law.  This is best proven by watching a child’s reaction the first time it’s told, “No.”  The first time a cognitively-aware child is firmly told, “No,” he or she will be stunned and often cries.  Toddlers especially hate law.  Tell a toddler that he can’t touch, have or do something and he will instinctively throw a fit.  This instinctive resistance to rules and regulations is in our nature.  We naturally see law as a restriction of our freedom and as chains to our liberty.  We almost always initially respond negatively to the implementation of any law in our lives.  When a parent declares a law for the home, children groan.  When a teacher announces a law for the class, students roll their eyes.  When an employer implements a law for the company, workers complain.  When a government passes a law for the country, citizens protest.  When a church adds a law for the membership, those members grumble.  We all instinctively resist law.

Solomon, a law-making monarch, wanted his readers to see the value of law.  Being wise, observant and experienced in law and order, this king was keenly aware of man’s natural resistance to law.  This proverb is the declaration that law is not just necessary, it’s valuable.  Law is necessary for order in any organization from the home to the nation.  It is also necessary for justice in any institution or land.  But when law is given by the wise, it’s so much more than that.  When law is crafted by the wise, it’s a possession of great value.  Solomon described it as a fountain of life that keeps its adherers from the snares of death.  When we see a wise law as that valuable, we won’t roll our eyes, groan or grumble at its implementation.

Take the seatbelt law that 49 of our 50 states have implemented, which requires all adults to wear a seatbelt in the front seat when sitting in a moving vehicle.  When those laws were passed in the 1980’s and 1990’s, they were met initially with rolled eyes, groans and grumbles.  Thirty to forty years later, there are still people who will not wear their seatbelts and choose to ignore the obnoxious beeping the entire time they drive their vehicles.  Why?  Because human nature loathes law.  Those who initially resisted the law and those who continue to resist the law have failed to see the clear value in the law.  Seatbelts have saved hundreds of thousands of lives since their inception.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website, seatbelts reduce deaths by nearly 50% for front seat occupants.  That’s a wise law that when obeying, helps you avoid the literal snares of death.  Why would anyone hate that law?  Why would anyone not follow that law?  The answer can only be a lack of appreciation for the law.  People all across the nation simply don’t want to be told what to do, even if it will literally save their lives.  People all across the country would rather live lawless and foolish than live under the law and wise.

There are laws of the wise and there are laws of the foolish and it is our duty to determine the value of each law we’re subjected to.  When we are given wise laws, we mustn’t resist the law but instead resist our instinct to resist the law.  When wise laws are put on us, we need to value that law as we would a fountain of life in a land governed by death.  The law of the wise is not drawn up for the restriction of freedom – it is drawn up for the extension of life.  Our evaluation of legislation will determine our level of submission, which in turn will impact our length of life.  If we don’t value a seatbelt law for example, then we won’t submit to that seatbelt law and ultimately, live a life more vulnerable to an early death by vehicular accident caused by actions not always within our control.

If a child can’t look past the restriction of his parent’s curfew law and see the value in it, he will likely not obey that law and more likely, bring great harm to himself.  If a worker can’t look past the restriction of the company’s safety laws and see the value in them, he will likely not obey those laws and more likely, become the victim of dangerous equipment.  If a citizen can’t look past the restriction of his government’s speeding laws, he will likely not obey those laws and more likely, endanger his life as well as the lives of others.  Like the previous proverb, this proverb is not addressing submission to authority as much as it addresses our evaluation of authority.  It matters how we feel about the authorities in our lives and it definitely matters how we value the laws in our lives.

A wise man doesn’t hate law because he knows the value of law.  A wise woman doesn’t resist law because she subjects herself to her own laws.  Wise people are lawmakers because they know the value of laws.  Wise parents have parental rules.  Wise spouses have relational rules.  Wise leaders have organizational rules.  Wise believers have spiritual rules. Wise daters have dating rules.  Wise builders have building rules.  Wise athletes have training rules.  Wise musicians have musical rules.  Wise teachers have teaching rules.  The wise don’t fear or resist legislation when they see value in that legislation.  Fools fail to take the time to find the value in legislation.
 
Our world is riddled with the snares of death.  Seemingly around every corner, there is a trap designed to take something from us whether from our body, soul or spirit.  There are snares in our homes, on our streets, in our schools and on our phones.  The law of wise keeps us far from these snares.  Establish wise laws for your life and welcome wise laws in your life no matter where they come from.  Make a law to be in church on a weekly basis, to read your Bible on a daily basis and to pray on a perpetual basis.  Find the value in your parent’s laws, in your spouse’s laws, in your employer’s laws, in your church’s laws, in your friend’s laws, in your government’s laws.  Don’t let human nature’s resistance to law rob a fountain of life from your life.