The Path of the Honest Person
[Proverbs 16:16-24]
What is your favorite hymn? I really enjoy a gospel song called "Blessed Man." I often listen to it while driving, and sometimes I even sing along. The first part of the lyrics of the song goes like this: "The one who gains strength from the Lord, and the one whose heart is set on the way of Zion, that person is blessed by God..." Here, "the way of Zion" refers to the great road leading to the city of Zion (the Temple in Jerusalem). And this lyrical content is based on Psalm 84:5: "Blessed is the one who finds strength in you, whose heart is set on the way to Zion." The phrase "the way of Zion" in the heart of the psalmist means that he greatly longed to go to the Temple in Jerusalem to pray to God, meet Him, and commune with Him (1-4). His longing was so intense that it weakened his body (v. 2). Yet, being far away, the psalmist expressed his deep sorrow over his situation and begged God to allow him to go to the Lord’s Temple. According to Dr. Park Yun-seon, in those days, Israelites living abroad faced great pain and obstacles, much like "the valley of tears," in their efforts to visit the Temple in Jerusalem. However, those who endured and passed through these hardships eventually arrived at "a place of many springs," a place of spiritual comfort and joy. There, they received heavenly gifts, like the "early rain," and spiritually experienced being in the presence of God (Park Yun-seon). Do we have this "way of Zion" in our hearts? Do we truly long for the new Jerusalem, the heavenly Temple, with all our hearts?
In today’s passage, Proverbs 16:17, King Solomon says: “The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; he who keeps his way preserves his soul.” Based on this verse, I would like to reflect on the "Path of the Honest Person" and receive the lessons it teaches us.
First, the path of the honest person departs from evil.
Look at the first half of Proverbs 16:17: "The highway of the upright is to depart from evil..." This truth about the path of the honest person departing from evil reminds us of what we meditated on in last week’s Wednesday prayer service, Proverbs 16:12, which teaches that the good king, who pleases God, hates doing evil. Moreover, the first half of today’s verse, Proverbs 16:17, brings to mind another verse we meditated on, Proverbs 16:6, which says that by the fear of the Lord, one departs from evil. The central message of all these verses is found in Proverbs 8:13: "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil." Ultimately, the lesson taught in today’s Proverbs 16:17 is that the path of the honest person is to depart from evil, and the reason for this is that the honest person fears God and, therefore, hates evil. This means that the honest person, like the good king we meditated on last week, possesses God’s wisdom. Referring back to Proverbs 16:16, we can say that the honest person, whose heart is set on God’s way, values wisdom more than gold and silver. He knows the worth of wisdom, and because he gains wisdom, he departs from evil as a result of fearing God.
So, what evil does the honest person, whose heart is set on God's way, depart from? It is pride. Look at Proverbs 16:18-19: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud.” The honest person, by gaining wisdom and fearing God, departs from evil, particularly from pride. This is because he knows that pride is the precursor to destruction. Not only does he depart from pride, but he also avoids associating with the proud. This is because the honest person knows the truth of Proverbs 16:5: "Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though they join forces, none will go unpunished." Another evil that the honest person departs from is laziness. Look at Proverbs 15:19: "The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway." What does this mean? The wicked are lazy, and as a result, they avoid the hard work and effort required to accomplish anything. Consequently, their lives are surrounded by obstacles, like thorns. But the path of the honest person is like a well-maintained highway. The reason his path is smooth is that he diligently fulfills his responsibilities, does not procrastinate, and works hard, sweating as he labors. The honest person walks on the smooth path because he fears God, follows His will, and works faithfully without delay.
The Path of the Honest Person
Dear brothers and sisters, we are those who have the "path of Zion" in our hearts. We are those who walk the path of pilgrimage, longing and hoping for the new heaven, the new earth, and the new Jerusalem. As we walk this pilgrimage, we must fear God and hate and flee from all evil. As the Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:22, we must abstain from every form of evil. And we must move forward towards our Zion, our new Jerusalem, which is distant yet within sight. I’m reminded of the gospel hymn “My Zion, So Far Away,” which goes:
"My Zion, so far away, O holy place, the house of my Father,
I’ve stayed up all night longing to go to my cherished home.
Even if my body is harmed on the vast ocean,
Today here, tomorrow there, I’ll preach the gospel.
When my journey is far and I rest on that distant hill,
The Lord will know all my struggles.
Even if my body grows weary in the barren fields or desert,
O my Lord Jesus, who loves me, will protect me."
Second, the honest person, whose heart is aligned with the right path, keeps their way.
Let us look at Proverbs 16:17: "The highway of the upright avoids evil; those who guard their way preserve their lives." The honest person who departs from evil—meaning the true believer—will not fall into the temptation of sin but will bravely flee from it when tempted (Park Yun-seon). How can the true believer resist and flee from temptation? The reason is that they carefully heed the Word of God. Look at the first half of verse 20: "He who pays attention to the Word will find good..." In other words, the honest (and true) believer who fears God meditates on God's Word day and night. Therefore, they receive the wisdom that God gives (verses 21-23). With God's wisdom, they discern all things rightly, listen attentively to His Word, and obey it. The reason why a true believer can obey God's Word is because of the humility they possess (verse 19). That is to say, the honest Christian, who fears God, humbles themselves and listens carefully to God's Word, obeying it, and thus faithfully keeps their way. They can do this because they depend on God (verse 20). Therefore, the honest Christian respects the authority of God's Word, carefully studying and following it (Park Yun-seon). Hence, when the temptation to sin arises, they use God's Word to discern and flee from evil.
As I meditated on this passage, I was reminded of Psalm 119:9-11: "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments. I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." Like the psalmist, who stored God's Word in his heart to avoid sin, the author of Proverbs 16:20 also encourages us to heed God's Word with care, rejecting temptation and fleeing from sin. To heed God's Word, we need, above all, God's wisdom and humility. The reason is that only with God's wisdom and humility can we hear His Word, pay attention to it, and obey it. The foolish and the proud, on the other hand, neither heed nor listen to God's Word. Instead, such people disobey God's Word and sin against Him.
The Path of the Honest Person
Brothers and sisters, a wise, humble, and truthful Christian who fears God walks the path of the Lord, obeying His word, and carefully maintains that path. He will never deviate to the left or right while walking on the Lord's way. Moreover, he carefully guards his mouth (v. 23) and uses it to bring glory to God. How does he bring glory to God with his mouth? The honest Christian makes his words wise, adding knowledge to his lips (v. 23). Let's look at verse 23: "The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips." That is, the honest Christian, being wise in heart, guards his lips and through them "adds knowledge to others" (vv. 21, 23). How can he add to the knowledge of others? It is possible through "good words." Look at verse 24: "Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones." What does this mean? "Good words," or the word of God, are like a honeycomb, sweet to our hearts and healing to our bones. This is why the prophet Jeremiah also confessed in Jeremiah 15:16: "... I ate Your words, and Your words were to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart..." Thus, the word of God becomes joy and delight to our souls. Therefore, we must feed on the word of God, which brings joy and delight to our hearts, and obey it to walk faithfully in the Lord’s way. In doing so, we can truly say that we are honest (true) Christians.
I would like to conclude my reflection on the word. Brothers and sisters, we are people who walk the same path. We are disciples of Jesus, walking in His way. We are pilgrims walking the path of the cross, just as Jesus did. As citizens of heaven, we are walking toward that high place, and we must be honest and true. As honest Christians, we must depart from evil, especially from pride and laziness. We must depend fully on God, carefully paying attention to His word, turning away from evil, and guarding our own path. We must walk humbly in obedience to God’s word, with the wisdom that comes from fearing Him. Furthermore, we must guard our mouths and make our words wise, so that through our lips we may add knowledge to others with good words. I pray that we all may be those who walk the path of the honest person.