Basic instructions for the best life, all in one chapter from Proverbs

By Dean Collins

Do’s and Don’ts from Proverbs 4

These fundamentals are life changing,
life protecting, and life giving.

Hear instruction.
Do not forsake teachings.
Be attentive to instruction.
Do not forget instructions and wisdom.
Let your heart hold fast.
Do not turn away from wisdom.
Keep my commandments.
Do not enter the path of the wicked.
Get wisdom
Do not walk in the way of evil.
Get insight.
Don’t let God’s words escape.
Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.
Don’t swerve left or right.
Prize wisdom and insight.
Embrace wisdom and insight.
Accept God’s words.
Keep hold of instruction.
Guard instruction.
Avoid evil.
Turn away and avoid the path of evil.
Incline your ear to God’s words.
Keep God’s words in your heart.
Be vigilant about protecting your heart.
Put away crooked speech.
Put away devious talk and conversations.
Look straight ahead.
Ponder your path forward.
Turn your feet away from evil.

Proverbs 4 gives at least 29 ways we are to take action. While many look at Scripture as a bunch of do nots, there are more do’s than don’ts in this chapter. It may be three-to-one on the things we can and should do versus the do not side of the ledger.

There’s good reason to take these positive actions. A significant amount of good follows the actions we are encouraged to take and a whole bunch of self-made troubles are avoided. Many of these instructions are pretty basic, the kind of thing you told your children when they were young. That makes sense since this chapter even indicates it’s a father-to-son conversation. But there is nothing to suggest this is gender specific. These same instructions could be offered mother to daughter or parents to children. Since God is our Heavenly Father, it makes sense that his Word often has the dynamic of the wise parent trying to help his much-loved children avoid pain and experience blessing.

Listen, pay attention, keep, get are all basic actions neither difficult to understand nor to follow. Most all of the instructions have to do with receiving wisdom and putting it into practice. And intentionality is involved.

Ask for wisdom

Frankly, I think most of us would prefer a more casual approach to faith and an occasional surprise dose of wisdom. But it simply doesn’t work that way. Wisdom comes only a couple of ways. First, according to many Scriptures, wisdom comes through a process of asking for it. Maybe seeking advice from another person will help. The emphasis on finding a mentor in both the corporate and church worlds proves this true. Much good can come from a mentor. But it’s noteworthy that we don’t find a bunch of Scriptures telling us, “Find a mentor.” Instead, we see many passages encouraging us to ask God for wisdom.

Before you seek a mentor or agree to be a mentor, a good starting place is to pray for wisdom and seek God’s direction. There is an abundance of bad advice available, so you must be cautious about where you get your input. Likewise, there are plenty of people who want to be seen as the experts and need their egos stroked and offer to mentor when a careful evaluation of their job and personal history suggests we should run away from them instead of asking for their counsel. Solomon says as much before the chapter is finished.

Apply God’s truth

The second way you get wisdom is that you apply God’s truth in your life and then pay attention to what happens as a result. That’s why we are told in this chapter to embrace, hold close, keep hold of, and ponder both the wisdom of God’s instructions and the paths where they lead us. But once you see the way, you must walk down the path to actually get the wisdom.

Guard your heart

A couple of words need special attention: guard and vigilant. Verse 23 insists that if we have taken all the actions in the previous verses, we now possess a heart aligned with God’s and therefore worth guarding with vigilance. The things we deem valuable we make special effort to protect. Every good parent would do anything and everything to protect their children. It is that same sort of effort and intensity we should apply to protect our hearts now filled, not just with the words of wisdom, but hearts that have been transformed by the power of the gospel. Jeremiah and Jesus agree with Solomon. The heart is desperately sick and needs to he healed, transformed, protected, and filled with only the things God gives us.

As I have noted in an earlier devotional, we must not walk in the flesh but rather by the Spirit that lives in us. When we live by the Spirit and follow the practices taught in Scripture likeProverbs 4, the results will be springs of life flowing freely. The impact of guarding and taking care of our heart will also make our very life shine brighter and brighter until the day our King returns.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4:1-27‬; Jeremiah‬ ‭17:9-10‬; Romans‬ ‭8:5-9, 27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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