What Our Eyes See

"Be not wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment {medicine} to your bones. Proverbs 3:7-8

Have you ever seen an optical illusion? It can be very deceiving. There is a hill on a road in Lake Wales, Florida, that can certainly mess with your mind. If you park your car on the hill, you appear to be going downhill when you are really going uphill! What we see is not always what we get.

Unfortunately, we sometimes live our lives in a sort of optical illusion. We become wise in our own lives and don't think that we need anyone, even God, to tell us what to do. We have it all together!

These verses in Proverbs might have a few hints for us to help us determine whether our wisdom is from God or is just an optical illusion. I love teens; they are some of my favorite people. But I have seen with my own children and grandchildren as well as other teens that there seems to come a time when most of them begin to become "wise in their own eyes." What are some of the symptoms that are implied in verses 7-8 of Proverbs 3? I took the opposite view of the commands in those verses and noted some important lessons:

1. One who is wise in her own eyes does not fear the Lord. Remember the definition of the fear of the Lord: the painful but motivating awareness that God is watching, weighing and judging everyone of our words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes. How often we forget that we have a Hound of Heaven watching us!

2. One who is wise in her own eyes is reluctant to turn away from evil. Evil raises its ugly head in so many ways--disobedience, wrong friendships, rebellious attitudes. You can name others, because, like me, you have probably been there.

3. One who is wise in her own eyes needs healing. Even when we "think" we know it all, something in us just does not feel right. God's wisdom leads to healing; man's wisdom brings a sickness not necessarily associated with the physical, but sometimes so.

4. One who is wise in her own eyes is always in need of refreshment. When we are wise in our own eyes, we cannot experience the joy that comes with applying the wisdom of God. Obedience to God brings joy--great joy. Self is out of the way so that we may receive the medicine of refreshment.

5. One who is wise in her own eyes does not know the special blessings of the Lord. Proverbs 3:18 says, "She {wisdom} is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed."

What a mighty God is He who allows us to partake of His insight!

It is my prayer today that we will all lay hold of wisdom, the tree of life, and that we will know the blessing that comes with it.

Have a blessed and refreshing day!

Gloria