Solomon and Self-Esteem - October 28, Readings: Ezekiel 1-2, 2 Thessalonians 3, 1 Timothy 1, Psalm 119:65–72, Proverbs 26:12–14

Links to Today's Readings

He may have been the wisest man who ever lived, but Solomon failed completely to understand the wisdom that has come to dominate the mindset of the American educational, sociological, and psychological mindset. "Believe in yourself. Trust your instincts. No one else can tell you what is right or wrong; that is something that only you can decide for yourself. You have to make your own rules, trust your own wisdom, seek your own path, and do it your way." In this world, it's all about self - self-confidence, self-esteem, self-direction.

Solomon's wisdom moved in a different direction. He told us that the beginning of wisdom was not self-esteem and self-reliance, but humility and the fear of the Lord. Folly, he told us, is bound up in the heart of a child and must be driven away by wisdom, discipline, and the correction of the Lord. We are flawed by inborn sin and natural folly and need the wisdom and correction of God. That is why he spent much of the book of Proverbs admonishing his sons to listen to wisdom and not to lean on their own understanding. Look at Proverbs 26:12.

Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?   

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

This is just one of the commands of Proverbs. In 28:26, we read, "he who trusts in himself (his own mind) is a fool." That slaps the mindset of the world right in the face. The false theology of human goodness says that we are innately good and wise and if we follow our instincts everything will be okay. Listen to your heart. Do what you feel inside. Nonsense. Balderdash. Poppycock. Solomon says that is folly and wickedness - the path to a life that is destroyed.

Of course, one of the most well-known portions of this book is Proverbs 3:5-6. You know it, right? Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Trust God's wisdom. His intelligence. His Lordship and direction. In case you don't understand exactly what that means, he follows that up with the second statement. Do not lean on your own understanding. Solomon makes it very clear. Don't trust yourself. Don't listen to your heart. Don't decide for yourself what is right and wrong. You can't handle that. Trust God and obey his word! Don't trust your instincts - they are flawed and sinful. Don't trust your own ability to figure things out, you will just mess up. Obey God and follow the word.

We have two ways we can walk. We can trust our own understanding or we can walk in obedience to God and his word. One path leads to trouble and the other to the blessing of God. Solomon, in Proverbs 26:12, makes it clear which way he thinks is right. Don't listen to the snake oil that Satan sold to Adam and Eve and that he's been peddling ever since. Listen to God and walk in humility, submission and obedience to him.

Father, I am flawed. My wisdom is not enough. My strength is not enough. I need your wisdom and your strength to get through. I trust in you and not in myself.