Proverbs 14:8

Proverbs 14:8 "The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit."

I think it fair to believe that some proverbs are more important than others and in the process, not minimizing or marginalizing any so-called less important proverbs.  I say that because this proverb is of supreme importance.  If any man or woman and especially any boy or girl is to have any spiritual success in life, this proverb must be appreciated and applied.

Prudent people succeed in life because by definition, they are circumspect people who see danger before it's evident.  Solomon defines the prudent person as him who "foreseeth the evil and hideth himself" in Proverbs 22:3.  The prudent have the spiritual skill to see danger far down the road of life.  That being said, the prudent aren't fearful or paranoid.  They're not obsessed with threats nor are they full of care.  The prudent don't exaggerate danger nor do they subscribe to scary conspiracy theories for they know the danger in becoming fearful.  To be prudent is to be aware of real threats as well as the threat of fear itself.  A prudent person survives a car accident because he wears a seatbelt but he rarely gets into a car accident because he doesn't drive panicky or fearful.  A prudent soul succeeds in life because he has the sense to avoid danger while not becoming paralyzed in any way by the threat of danger itself.

A fool, however, is prone to failure.  A fool lacks the awareness of danger.  By definition, a fool lacks the sense to avoid the danger in this world.  A fool clicks on the link in the suspicious email because it seems legitimate.  A fool goes on a date with the creepy guy because he seems rich.  A fool has an affair with a married woman because it seems like a good idea.  A fool doesn't wear a seatbelt because he's convinced that he's in control of the road and because he doesn’t think anyone should tell him what to do.  Foolish people know little but act like they know everything - financially, politically, medically, relationally and spiritually.  For that simple but devastating reason, they make terrible decisions that lead to constant failure.

This proverb points out a critical difference between the prudent and the fool and at the same time, one of the main differences between success and failure.  In this insightful statement, Solomon contrasts the greatest strength of the prudent with the greatest weakness of a fool.  This Bible verse identifies with great clarity WHY the prudent succeed and WHY the foolish fail and it has to do with INTROSPECTION.  Our word, introspection comes from a Latin word that means to "look within."  Introspection is the act of examining our thoughts, feelings and intents.  Introspection in itself isn't the key to success.  The manner of introspection, however, is the key to success.  In this proverb, both persons are introspective but one's is described as wisdom while the other’s is described as folly.  The prudent looks within himself and understands who he is, where he is heading and why he's going where he's going; he "understands his way."  The prudent know that their sense of danger is not just to be applied to outer threats but it is especially meant to be applied to inner threats.  To be wise for the prudent is to know himself very accurately.  For the prudent, just looking out for deer, drunk drivers or texting drivers is foolish if he himself hasn't accurately and fairly assessed his health, weariness or attentiveness in the driver’s seat.  It would be utter foolishness if a person prepared for every external threat possible but never addressed the internal threats.  To do so would be as foolish as a cancer patient wrapping himself in bubble wrap to protect himself from external dangers but never having surgery or taking medication to eradicate the internal danger.

Again, it's not that fools aren't introspective, it's just that they rely on the wrong source for introspection.  Fools rely on their own wisdom to examine themselves; they rely on their human hearts.  This is spiritually-fatal because we know the human heart to be "DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS" according to Jeremiah 17:9.  The heart is naturally deceitful during times of introspection.  It is masterful at making our thoughts appear right.  It is incredibly convincing at making our emotions seem appropriate.  It is wildly successful at making us feel justified in our intentions.  Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."  Proverbs 12:15, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes."  It is for this reason that introspection in itself is not the key to success.  In fact, introspection governed by the heart is guaranteed to end in failure.  Fools fail in life because they fall for inner deception about themselves.  Fools fail in friendship and in relationship because they believe what their heart tells them about their character.  Fools fail spiritually and eternally because they believe the inner lie that they're not that bad.  Fools fail because they believe the inner voice of the heart declaring and confirming inner goodness.

The prudent succeed in life because they don't trust their own hearts and instead, turn to the One Who is nothing but truthful.  Because God is no respecter of persons, He is not hesitant to tell us what we need to hear about ourselves.  Because God is loving, He is not afraid to show us what we need to see about ourselves.  The prudent recognize the colossal danger in going through life deceived about themselves.  For this wise reason, they consistently engage in Divine Introspection where they rely on God to help them understand their ways.  Take David for example, who in Psalm 139:23-24 prayed, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be ANY WICKED WAY in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  The prudent want to know if there is any wicked way in them so they can address it before it leads to some danger in their life.  The prudent don't ask themselves - they ask God, "Why do I feel the way I do? Why do I think the way I do? Why do I act the way I do? Why do I respond the way I do?"  These wise souls don't ask themselves where they're heading - they ask God where they're heading.  They don't trust themselves to fairly assess the path they're on so they sincerely and humbly look to God to show them their way.  They want God to shine a light on where they are, how they got there so they can foresee where they're going.  They want to see where they're going so that if it's a dangerous direction, they can make the appropriate adjustments.

Fools fail because they don't know what road they're on.  They go through life unaware of where they're going and how they got there.  They don't know why they do what they do.  They don't truly understand who they are and for that simple reason, don't make any adjustments.  Fools think they know who they are and believe the inner voice that blames everyone else for their problems.  Solomon put this tragic truth in perfect picture form when he wrote, "The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not t wahat they stumble" (Proverbs 4:19).  Because they've convinced themselves that they're fine and dandy, they keep tripping over their own two feet but keep blaming their missteps on potholes and cracks in the path.  Their way leads to certain failure and because they don't understand their way, they keep waking ignorantly and confidently toward their demise.  Unfortunately, Samson is a tragic example of such a man.  He didn't understand his lustful way and at some point, convinced himself that he wasn't in any danger of anything since God kept giving him strength and victories.  Even after Delilah seduced him into getting a haircut, he ignorantly and confidently walked down that road not knowing "that the Lord was departed from him" (Judges 16:20).

How about you?  Are you a person given to introspection?  If so, is your introspection done by your heart or by your God?  Whose voice do you listen to when examining your way - God's or yours?  Has God given you understanding about your way?  Have you learned from God why you do what you do?  Have you received Divine insight about your tendencies and your unique makeup?  Has God shown you what the path between your feet looks like and can you foresee where it ends?  Have you examined your feelings, thoughts and intents with the help of the Holy Spirit of God or have you just believed what your own heart has told you? If you stay on the path you're on, where does it end?  If you keep going in the direction you're going, how does it end?  

If you want to succeed as a person, as a Christian, as a spouse, as a parent, as a friend or as a minister, you must be regularly introspective and more importantly, Divinely Introspective.  Evaluating yourself without God is just as dangerous, if not more dangerous than not evaluating yourself.  Ignorance about yourself will lead to failure but even worse, deception about yourself will ensure that failure.  It's bad enough to not know what to change about yourself but when you're convinced you don't need to change anything about yourself, that's as bad as it gets.

Do you understand your way as God understands it?