Read
24You completely ignored me
and refused to listen;
25you rejected my advice
and paid no attention
when I warned you.
26“So when you are struck
by some terrible disaster,
27or when trouble and distress
surround you like a whirlwind,
I will laugh and make fun.
28You will ask for my help,
but I won't listen;
you will search,
but you won't find me.
29No, you would not learn,
and you refused
to respect the Lord.
30You rejected my advice
and paid no attention
when I warned you.
31“Now you will eat the fruit
of what you have done,
until you are stuffed full
with your own schemes.
32Sin and self-satisfaction
bring destruction and death
to stupid fools.
33But if you listen to me,
you will be safe and secure
without fear of disaster.”
Reflect
Have you ever been warned about something, did it anyways, and paid the consequences? Maybe it was ordering “spicy” at a restaurant when your friend told you to go for “medium” or better yet “mild” at this particular place. After the initial pain, did you join your friend in laughing at your refusal to heed the warning? Here we have Lady Wisdom explaining that this is exactly what will happen if we don’t listen to her. There are times when you should have listened right away. It will be too late otherwise.
The Proverbs offer us a chance to get good advice ahead of time – it is up to us to listen and put them into practice. If we purposely go against their advice, we should not be surprised when calamity strikes. If you plant raspberries, don’t be surprised when you go looking for a strawberry and find none. The Bible’s instructions are seeds that sow a harvest of righteousness and better living.
The Lady’s words are quite harsh here, but sometimes it takes tough talk to make someone listen. She’s seen enough people ignore her, or ridicule her, to realize the stakes are too high to leave it at niceties. Those who do not listen to the way of the Lord will find themselves in disaster, death and destruction. Don’t be stupid! Listen up, and safety and security will naturally follow.
This is not a promise that nothing bad will ever happen to you, but a description of the way things usually work. Listen to wisdom, and your life will be on the right track. Ignore her at your peril.
Respond
Source of our Wisdom, in your kindness you offer us these gems on how to live well. We ask that you help us put them into practice so that we avoid hurting ourselves and instead end up living a life of love and joy, through Jesus your Son, the Wisdom of God, Amen.
Cyril Guerette
Dr. Cyril Guerette is Lead Pastor of ForestView Church Without Walls in Oakville, ON. He also served for 10 years as a pastor in downtown Toronto. He holds a PhD (University of St. Michael’s College) and M.Phil (University of Cambridge) and serves as Associate Professor of Philosophy & Theology at Heritage College & Seminary. Cyril enjoys writing, taking walks, making hiphop music, playing with his children, and admiring the mixed-media photographic artwork of his wife, Maegan. Publications: Guerette, Cyril. Poetic/Dialectic: The Confluence of Poetry and Philosophy in St. Anselm’s Theology. Portland, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2017 (Forthcoming). Guerette, Cyril. “The Pastor as Poet”, in For Christ and His Church. Edited by Rick Reed. Kitchener-Waterloo, ON: Joshua Press, 2015. Guerette, Cyril. “An Appeal to Zeal”, in Letters to a Future Church: Words of Encouragement and Prophetic Appeals. Edited by Chris Lewis. Downer’s Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2012.