Day 390: Ignoring good advice - Proverbs 18 vs 1 - 5

1 He who separates himself (from God and man) seeks his own desire, he quarrels against all sound wisdom. 2  A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his personal opinions. 3 When the wicked man comes, contempt (of all that is pure and good) also comes. And with inner baseness comes outer shame (scorn).

4 The words of a man’s mouth are like deep waters (copious and difficult to fathom); the fountain of wisdom is like a bubbling stream (fresh, pure, and life-giving).

5 To show respect to the wicked person is not good, nor to push aside and deprive the righteous of justice. Proverbs 18:1-5 From the Amplified Bible.

The Bible has quite a few examples of people who were stubborn and chose to do their own thing rather than to take good advice when it was given. (Much like vs 1-2 describe.) For example, when the man named Cain got angry with God for favouring the sacrifice his brother Abel had offered God, God said to him: “Why are you so angry? Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” (Genesis 4:6-7) Cain rejected God's wise words and went on to murder his brother.

Another example was Rehoboam. He was King Solomon's son who, when Solomon died, was next in line to rule. So he asked the older men who'd been Solomon's advisers how he could win the support of the people. “The older counsellors replied, 'If you are willing to be a servant to these people today and give them a favourable answer, they will always be your loyal subjects.' But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and, instead, asked the opinion of the young men who'd grown up with him and were now his advisers.” (1 Kings 12:7-8) They told him to be a tough guy and work the people hard. The result was that the Kingdom was split by civil war.

What did vs 1-2 tell us is often the reason some people are so difficult to get on with, and won't take any sound advice?

They want their own way and only care about their own opinions. Does vs 3 perhaps show what is often the outcome of that sort of attitude?

While such people often treat the opinions of others with contempt, their own lives more often than not end up in shame. When people think they know it all and refuse to hear the wise advice of others they become blind to what others can see in their lives. A big example would be those Pharisees who rejected all that Jesus was teaching the people.

Verse 4 is the very opposite to those sort of people. We are reminded there that our words hold a lot of meaning which may not always be obvious on the surface. That can be true of the words of people with devious intentions. But when the words of the person speaking are truly constructive and helpful, they are like a fountain of wisdom that brings insight and life to the hearers. That was certainly true of Jesus Christ and it's why we must read His words as often as we can, and take them to heart. They are more than good advice – they are words of eternal life.

Verse 5 is an example of where bad advice can lead. The foolish advice which the young friends of Rehoboam gave led to him depriving ordinary people of justice. By rejecting the good advice of the older men he lost a nation.

There can be times in life when we do need to take a stand against a viewpoint that is obviously wrong, even if it’s followed by multitudes. Martin Luther was correct to separate himself from the errors being taught by the Church in his generation. But we must take care that we are not just being stubborn and unwilling to recognize that we may be wrong about a matter. May God help us to be people who speak the sort of words described in vs 4.