To Shun // Proverbs 3:7

Do you ever get caught in the trap of thinking yourself wise? I know I have. The folly arrives when we feel we know it all and then realize how little we truly get. Today’s verse from Proverbs 3:7 cautions us against being wise in our own eyes; in other words, believing our own perceptions are absolute truth. We are in a postmodern era that wants to convince us there is no absolute truth, rather that truth is relative and dependent upon our lived experience. This can cause us to slip into Satan’s original temptation that we can be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil (see Genesis 3:5). The biggest problem we will experience is we will be further tempted to call good evil and evil good if it runs afoul of our preference. This is precisely why Proverbs 3:7 tells us to fear God and shun evil. The word we read as shun comes from the Hebrew word which means, to turn aside. This works much like our New Testament understanding of repentance, also pointing to turning away from the things that entrap and ensnare us. And therein lies the rub: we are especially susceptible to the folly of our own desires when we are convinced we are right in our own eyes. God wants us to see what’s right and wrong from His point of view as opposed to our own preferences. So, are you guilty of thinking your way is the only way? It isn’t. Turn away from that mindset and turn to God. That is precisely how you shun evil and find freedom in fear of the Lord.