The Wise Path

[Proverbs 4:10-19]

If you had to teach your children about two paths—the path of life and the path of death—what path would you tell them to choose and walk? Probably, no loving parent would tell their children to choose the path of death. I remember recently hearing a counselor's column on Korean radio, which mentioned how many immigrant children of Korean descent are living lives engulfed by alcohol and drugs. The problem, however, is that many of our parents feel helpless. Parents, what should we do, and how should we do it?

In today's passage, Proverbs 4:10, King Solomon says to his son: "Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many." (Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be prolonged.) Solomon is teaching his son the way of life. What is this way of life? It is the "wise path." Look at verse 11: "I have taught you in the way of wisdom, I have led you in upright paths." The "wise path" that Solomon teaches his son is the "upright path," that is, the path of integrity (v. 11).

We are currently living in an age of crisis regarding honesty. The age in which we live is one where we cannot distinguish what is true and what is false. This must be the work of the devil. The father of lies, the devil, is deceiving us by packaging lies and presenting them as truth. Therefore, the devil continuously tries to lure us away from the "wise path" to walk in the "path of the wicked" or the "way of the evil one," continuously tempting us with false "truths" disguised as real truth (v. 14). What should we do? Look at Proverbs 4:14-15. The Bible admonishes us as follows: "Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not pass by it; turn away from it and pass on." We must avoid it. We should not even walk by the way of the wicked. The reason is that the wicked cannot sleep unless they have caused someone to fall (v. 16). They are those who "eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence" (v. 17). In short, their primary food is "sin." Therefore, the wicked, who sin as naturally as eating, seek to lead us believers away from the wise path and onto the path of the wicked, constantly tempting us. The unfortunate reality is that many of us believers keep falling into the temptations of the wicked. So, many times, instead of walking the wise, upright, and righteous path, we end up walking the way of the wicked. Look at verse 19: "The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble." Isn't that true? How many times, when we have fallen into the temptations of the devil and walked the path of the wicked, do we not even realize where we have stumbled and are walking in darkness? Why do we keep falling into the devil’s temptations? When I think about this, I believe the reason is that the devil cunningly mixes lies with the truth of God's Word and whispers to us that it is the truth. As a result, we often struggle to discern between the true Word of God and the devil’s false "truth" wrapped in deception. Because of this confusion, many times, we end up choosing the devil’s false "truth" and eventually find ourselves walking the path of the wicked. What should we do?

The way to distinguish between the devil's packaged lies, which he calls "truth," and the true truth of God, is by meditating on God's Word day and night. When you and I meditate on God's Word day and night, we will be able to discern the packaged lies of the devil. Therefore, King Solomon encourages us in today's passage, Proverbs 4:13: "Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well..." God the Father, desiring to give us the highest wisdom, continues to instruct us with His Word of truth. We must hold firmly to that instruction and not let it go. We must also obey and follow that instruction. When we do this, our steps will not be difficult, and we will not stumble (v. 12).

We must walk the wise path. The wise path is the honest path, and the honest path is the "path of the righteous." Look at Proverbs 4:18 today: "But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining ever brighter until the full light of day." What does this mean? The wise children of God, who hear and firmly hold on to God's instruction, and who keep and follow it, will shine like the rising sun in the morning. Their light of purity (light of purity) will shine brightly in this dark world. Just as the sunlight grows brighter as the day progresses, the purity of the wise children of God will shine brighter and brighter. As I meditated on this verse, I thought of Daniel 12:3: "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." And when I connected this verse from Daniel to today's passage from Proverbs 4:10-19, I realized that we must shine the light of the gospel brightly in this dark world. To do this, we must walk the wise path according to God's instructions. We must walk the path of honesty and the path of the righteous. To shine the light of the gospel brightly in this dark and sinful world, we must shine the "light of honesty" and the "light of righteousness." Thus, God will use us to bring many back to the right path, and we will shine forever like the brightness of the heavens, like the stars in the sky.

I would like to conclude this meditation. Today, many second-generation children are not listening to the wise words and teachings of their parents, and they are walking the path of sin in this dark world. People in this dark world, who sin as if it were their food, are causing our children to stumble, leading them away from the path of honesty and onto the path of lies, away from the path of the righteous and onto the path of the wicked. The truly serious issue is that our children have lost the ability to resist the temptations of the wicked. So, when people in this world seduce them, our children are entering the path of the wicked, walking along it instead of avoiding it. What should we do? We must teach our children the path of life, the wise path. We must instruct and guide our children to walk the path of honesty and the path of the righteous. When we do this, our children will not stumble. On the contrary, our children will become wise people who guide many to righteousness, just like the stars in the sky and the brightness of the heavens, and they will be God's people who bring glory to God. May this blessing be upon the homes of you and me.