Proverbs 16:17-20 says,...

Today's verses are Proverbs 16:17-20, which read,

v.17 - The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; he who watches his way preserves his life.

What is the norm for the upright?  The norm is to depart from evil.  It is for the upright to watch his way.  It is not the norm for the upright to play with evil, dance on the line, or stratal the fence.  It is not the norm to walk any which way or leave the map or gps at home.  No, the upright is very aware of what evil is and puts in place disciplines that keeps him aware to walk in a way that honors and glorifies God rather than walks away from Him.

v.18 - Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.

Solomon gives us the opposite of the upright and that is those who are prideful.  Pride gives the impression that it will build you up but it just brings you down.  Pride gives the impression that building yourself up by tearing others down will get you somewhere but it is not where you want to go.  You think you are getting up on a pedestal but you will end up face down in the dirt.

Remember what we are reading here.  This is the wisdom of God.  God says this is what happens if we live prideful lives.  Destruction will come and we will fall.  Pride does so much destruction and there is no place for it in the life of the upright.  We can be thankful and grateful and we can lift others up but when our motive turns to be an agenda to raise ourselves up over others then we have ventured into the pride zone.  God says, "Watch out."

v.19 - It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud.

The world has a philosophy that more is better and being with the people who have the more is better.  God says it is better to do just the opposite.  Instead of puffing yourself up it is better to raise others up by being humble to serve them with the love of God.  Instead of dividing up what has been taken from them with others who are doing the same it is better to provide for them in the name of the One who gave His whole life for us.  

Prideful or humble, which are you?  It is a very simple question to answer in light of Scripture of what God wants us to be.  He says it over and over and over again.  It must be that we struggle with this issue and He knows it and therefore we should listen and obey the One who really knows us.

v.20 - He who gives attention to the word will find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

This is a great sum up verse to this section.  The one who gives attention to the word and the word is God's word will find good.  The one who gives attention to God's word will keep on His highway away from evil and watching his life closely to honor God.  The one who gives attention to God's word will hear and obey His words about pride and humility.  The one who gives attention to God's word will live a life that raises others up by living after God's example rather than tearing them down before getting taken down themselves by God.  

Those who are blessed are those who trust in the Lord.  Trust in this context is to what He has had written down for us.  We trust His Word.  We trust the Bible.  We trust His definitions.  We trust what He says about the prideful and the humble will come to pass.  

In a world that is redefining everything, do you trust in the Lord?  In a world that is continuing trying to make a name for itself, do you lift up one name and it is not yours?  In a world that is consumed with consuming, do you look for ways to use what God has given you to serve others?  In a world a world that is running toward evil, do you run every day toward a holy God?  May we give attention to what He says and trust it as we trust in the Lord.  Let's pray.

"Lord, You give us a lot of black and white and today is one of them with being prideful or being humble.  There is no question how You want us to live our lives.  May we trust what You say and live our lives accordingly and may we identify areas where we are putting forth another agenda other than Yours and trying to climb onto the pedestal that is reserved for You and You alone.  Amen."

Pastor Adam