At the church where I serve, we are in the middle of a
sermon series entitled Relationships vs Relationsinks. During this series, we
are discovering what the letters that make up the Bible have to say about lasting relationships. This
week, I would like for us to spend our time together talking about a timeless
truth that is often minimized and ignored when it comes to lasting
relationships. Due to how our culture views love and relationships, this
timeless truth is often missed.
We discover this timeless truth in a section of a letter
that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of our Bibles called the book of
Proverbs. It is in this section of this letter that we see the wisest man who
ever lived make a profound statement that reveals this timeless truth. So,
let’s look at this statement together, beginning in Proverbs 14:15:
The naive
believes everything, But the sensible man
considers his steps
In this proverb, we see Solomon
communicate a proverb that contrasts two different types of people. To
understand the significance of Solomon’s statement here, we first need to
understand what proverbs are and how they function. Proverbs are little slices
of truth about the way things generally happen in life, but not always.
In other words, while proverbs
are not iron clad promises, proverbs are little slices of truth that have been
discovered from multiple people as a result of common experiences over time. So,
reading proverbs is like surrounding yourself with older, wiser, and more
experienced people who can provide you advice about how life generally works.
With that in mind, we see Solomon
contrast two different types of people. The fist type of person Solomon refers
to as naïve. Now the word naïve, in the language that this letter was
originally written in, literally means to be simple. A naïve person is a person
who is gullible and easily deceived. A naïve person tends to be careless and is
easily misled.
Solomon then reveals the
consequences that await the naïve person. The naïve person, according to
Solomon believes everything. Because the naïve person is careless; because the naïve
person is gullible, the naïve person is easily deceived into believing
everything. Now this word believed is the same word that is translated trust in
the Bible and literally means to entrust oneself with complete confidence to
someone or something. So, the naïve person carelessly places their trust in
what they hear with the result that they are deceived and misled.
Solomon then contrasts the naïve
person with the sensible person. A sensible person is one who is shrewd or
careful. And because the sensible person is shrewd and careful, they consider
their steps. The word consider here literally means to consider and discern so
as to have insight and understanding.
But what does Solomon mean when he says the sensible man considers his
steps?
When Solomon uses the word steps,
this word refers to the course, conduct, and consequences that occur in one’s
life. This word refers to the lifestyle that one lives and the consequences
that the lifestyle produces. This word refers to the direction that one takes
as they travel on the pathway of life.
Think of it this way. The course,
conduct, and consequences of our lives are determined by each step that we take
in our lives. The direction of our lives determines the destination that we
arrive at in our lives. And that direction is determined by each step that we
take in our day to day lives.
Solomon’s point here is that a
careless and gullible person will not consider how the course and conduct of
their lives will affect the consequences that they experience. The careless and
gullible person will not take the time or effort to gain insight as to where
the direction of their life and lifestyle is taking them. And as a result, they
will suffer the consequences of their carelessness later in life.
By contrast, the sensible person
considers the decisions that impact the direction of their lives in a way that
provides them the insight to see the destination that they are heading towards.
The sensible person prepares for the future by taking the time and effort to
gain insight when it comes to the direction of their lives. The sensible person
will carefully prepare for the future by asking questions and evaluating the
direction of their life and lifestyle so as to be successful later in life.
And it is in this proverb that we
discover a timeless truth when it comes to lasting relationships. And that
timeless truth is this: Lasting relationships require preparation. In order to
experience lasting relationships, we must prepare ourselves to become the right
person. In order to experience lasting relationships, we must prepare ourselves
so that the course, conduct, and consequences of our lives produce committed
and lasting relationships.
You see, marriage is not about
love. Instead marriage is about commitment. People who are in love get married,
but at the end of the day, marriage is about making a covenant commitment to
one another before God. Yet, while it is easy to make a commitment, it is much
more difficult to keep that commitment. And if we do not take the time to
prepare for the commitment to lasting relationships, the harsh reality is that
we will not be able to keep our commitment to lasting relationships.
Now you may find yourself pushing
back to what I just said. You might be objecting to what I just said. If I have
just described you, here is the thing; this timeless truth plays itself out in
every aspect of our lives. Let me give you an example.
If I told you that next Sunday, I
am committing to preach the entire sermon in Spanish; do you think that I could
keep that commitment? Since I do not speak Spanish; and if I spent the next
week not even looking at any Spanish, do you think I could keep that
commitment? Of course not. If I told you that I am committing to run a five-minute
mile next month, but was not going to work out at all for the next month, do
you think that I could keep that commitment? You see, our commitments are only
as good as our preparation to keep those commitments.
That is why we are such a
stickler for premarital counseling at the church where I serve. That is why we
are often accused of not wanting to marry people. We are such a stickler for
premarital counseling because we believe that our commitments are only as good
as our preparation. Lasting relationships are the product of lifelong
preparation to keep one’s commitment to one another.
Tomorrow, I would like to begin
asking and answering some common questions and giving some timeless advice to
help you prepare for the future as you strive to become the right person that
the person you are looking for is looking for…
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