“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom ” (Proverbs 4:7a). If you want to be wise, get wisdom. Pretty simple, isn’t it? The entire book of Proverbs is filled with wisdom. So get the book, there you go- wisdom! But if you’ve ever read the book of Proverbs, you know it doesn’t come that easily.

Proverbs is a part of the rich wisdom literature of the Old Testament. Such literature is not conducive to interpreting at face value and immediately applying it to our lives. We have to slow down and understand the individual proverbs in their original context. We have to read them through the lens of biblical theology, and then apply them to the current context of our lives as New Testament believers.

In this message I want to help us “get wisdom” by studying a passage of Proverbs in the ways I just mentioned. Our text will be Proverbs 4:20-27,

“²⁰ My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
²¹ Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.
²² For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.
²³ Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
²⁴ Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.
²⁵ Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.
²⁶ Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.
²⁷ Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”

The author invites the reader to pay close attention to his words and to keep them within their heart, because they will be life and healing to those who find them. He proceeds to present proverbs that encompass all of our life. We can summarize them by looking at four concepts he mentions: our heart, our speech, our eyes, and our path. Let’s take a look at each of these in context, consider them in light of the New Testament, and apply them to our lives.

Our Heart

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

This one is undoubtedly the longest, for from it flows not only the springs of life, but each of the other proverbs as well. The word for heart (לֵב)in Hebrew implies the inner person, the mind, and the will. The heart is the center of all operations of human life, including our spiritual life, our conscience, our will, and our emotions. Genesis 8:21 tells us that it is naturally wicked and must be regenerated before it can obey God (Ezek 36:26). God promises to give those who trust Him a new heart, from which will flow “the springs of life.”

We are called to “keep our heart with all vigilance.” The word for keep (נָצַר) means to watch or to guard. It is used in the Old Testament to describe taking care of a vineyard or a standing guard over a city.  Keeping involves both defensive and offensive care. For example, the vigneron must protect his vineyard from thorns, pests, and disease. But he must also invest in the health of his soil and his vines via plowing, sowing, and pruning.

Similarly, we must guard our hearts from its enemies, things such as gossip, anger, slander, covetousness, jealousy, unforgiveness, and idolatry. But how do we do that? Take anger for example. We get angry when an idol is blocked. If something keeps us from what we want, we get angry. If I idolize comfort and my kids do something that makes me uncomfortable, I am going to be tempted with anger. So we must know the idols of our heart, remind ourselves that they are not our Savior, and practice responding to the loss of them by reminding ourselves that God alone is our Savior, our joy, our purpose, our reason for living.

What do you need to guard your heart from? What sins tend to entangle you? What sins threaten to choke the life out of you? The love of money? Sexual immorality? Idolizing success? Gossip? Bitterness? Anger? Unforgiveness? Study you’re the enemies of your heart: the sins that threaten to take the joy out of the life that God has given you.

We can also guard our heart by investing in it’s health. This is the plowing, sowing, and pruning. Philippians 4:8 tells us how, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

How can we fill our minds with such things? By reading God’s Word, attending corporate worship, being in fellowship with one another, memorizing Scripture, reading good books, or listening to worship, podcasts, radio shows, or audio books. Use anything to fill your mind with such things so that you can think on such things.

So, are you investing in the health of your heart? What do you put into your heart through the things you hear and see? What do you dwell on during the day? Are your thoughts indicative of the wise person who keeps His heart or the fool who lets anything and everything in?

Our Mouth

“Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you” (Proverbs 4:24).

The author moves naturally from the heart to the mouth. We should expect such a connection, for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). We are told specifically to put away crooked speech. The phrase literally means “a crooked mouth.” The CSB renders the proverb, “Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly.” The EASY translation reads, “Never tell lies or try to deceive other people.” That’s the intent here.

The proverb has deceit as the primary focus, but there are many other types of devious talk. Anything that deviates from God’s truth and God’s purpose could be included: gossip, slander, flattery, crude joking, disrespect, and obscenity.

Jesus calls His followers to let their yes be yes and their no be no. “Anything more than this comes from evil” (Matt 5:37). God’s people are called to honesty in our speech. If our words are intended to deceive, even though they may not be untrue per se, it is crooked speech.

When I worked on a specific church with a construction company, the pastor asked if we could make several changes and add a few things to the project. We said sure and performed all the things he asked. When it came time to pay, he informed us that he asked for those things but never said he was going to pay for it. That’s devious talk.

We must not cloak the truth in disingenuous banter. We should be clear, candid, and honest.

That’s the negative: don’t use crooked speech. But Scripture also calls us to the positive, right kind of speech. We see both in Ephesians 4:29. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths (negative), but only as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear (positive).” Our speech should be encouraging. It should fit the occasion. It should give grace. Such speech defines those who belong to Christ.

So what does your speech look like? What does it reveal about your heart? Do you labor to speak truthful, edifying, words that fit the occasion? Or are you loose with your tongue? Are you willing to bend the truth or conceal a fact to get ahead in work or school? Are you willing to deceive your children in an attempt to make your life easier, even if its just for a moment? If you’re married, what kinds of words do you use in the context of your marriage? The wise person puts away all crooked speech and endeavors to speak true and edifying words.

Our Eyes

“Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you” (Proverbs 4:25).

This proverb literally reads, “may your eyes look to the front.” The phrase means: may you stay focused. Focused on what? On the wisdom presented here. On the will of God. On the path of righteousness (Prov 4:18) versus the path of wickedness (Prov 4:19).

This proverb is two-fold. At the surface level, it applies to our actual eyes. Jesus says that the eye is the lamp of the body (Luke 11:34-36). If the eye is bad, the entire body will be full of darkness. My wife struggled with bad vision for almost an entire year as a symptom of hypoglycemia and she attests to the truth of this verse. Bad vision makes everything else bad.

The application is simple: What do you allow your eyes to see, literally? Do you allow your eyes to watch things that are detrimental to the purity of your heart? Most people jump straight to sexual immorality, and rightfully so. But we what we see with our eyes can also foster other sins. Take covetousness for example. If you’re a social media addict, you can quickly become jealous at other people’s lives as you see the lifestyle they portray.

At the deeper, spiritual level, the eye is metaphorical in nature, and it is used to describe what the heart is set on. What the heart pursues. What the heart’s reason for living is. In other words, what we worship.

We are called to look directly forward. To the Old Testament Jews, this meant that they should set their eyes (their focus) on what God had called them to worshipping Him, serving Him, taking part in the sacrifices for their sins, and living holy lives for the nations to see the glory of the God of Israel.

As New Testament Christians, we set our eyes on the fulfillment of what the Jews were looking forward to: Christ and His kingdom. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2). Lay aside every weight, lay aside every sin, and run the race, looking to Jesus. That’s the New Testament application of Proverbs 4:25.

We are called to look to Christ, but also to His kingdom, that will come one day in its eternal glory. We are called to look forward- to eternity. “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor 4:8).

So we fix our eyes ahead. We lay aside every distraction, every weight, and every sin. We look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. We look toward the kingdom of God coming for all eternity. In every aspect of life, we labor to focus on Christ, to remember all that He has done and is doing for us, we seek the kingdom, and do the work that God has called us to- until He brings us home. That’s what it means to look directly forward.

Our Feet

“Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil” (Proverbs 4:26-27).

This proverb is closely related to the previous one. Like the eyes, the path of our feet is also metaphorical. Earlier in Proverbs 4, the path of righteousness is contrasted with the path of wickedness (Proverbs 4:18, 19). We are invited to ponder the path of our feet- which one are we on?

Jesus described two different paths. One is narrow. One is wide. One is easy to find. One is hard. The one who trusts Jesus and follows Him is on the narrow path. The one who rejects Him and follows the way of the world is on the wide path. One leads to life. One leads to destruction.

This proverb is a reminder to ask yourself: which path are you on? Are your feet on the wide path that is the world? Its an enticing path, and it’s the status quo. Go to school. Get a job. Get married, or not. Have kids, or not. Take vacations. Make sure the bills are paid. Enjoy hobbies and sports. Retire. Do whatever makes you happy. And one day, die. It sounds good, but there’s no purpose, no beauty, no meaning. It’s a life spent missing out on what God created us for: worshipping, knowing, loving, and serving Him.

The New Testament frequently uses similar imagery but in the context of a walk. 1 John 2:6 says, “whoever says he abides in him [Christ] ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” The question is, are we walking in the way that He walked? Are we walking in a relationship with God? Are we loving one another? Are we serving one another? Are we ministering to others? Are we praying for people? Are we laboring to see the lost come to know Christ? Are we making disciples? Are we laboring to raise our children as disciples of Jesus? Are we striving alongside one another for holiness?

Ponder the path of your feet. Are you walking with God? If so, “all your ways will be sure”. God will direct them. He will guide them. He will always lead you on the right path. Do you see how all of these go together? We ponder the path of our feet and make sure we are following Christ. We keep our heart by fixing our eyes on Jesus and eternity. We avoid any deceitful talk and walk in the manner that Christ walked. That is wisdom.

So as we conclude our discussion on these four concepts, let’s ask some application questions. We will follow the example of negative and positive. Putting off and putting on. First, the negative: Have I thought about or cherished anything that I shouldn’t have? Have I said anything that I shouldn’t have? Have my eyes seen anything that they shouldn’t have? Am I living in a way that I should not be? Confess those. Repent of them. Receive God’s forgiveness in Christ and His power to overcome those sins.

Second, the positive: Am I keeping my heart by thinking on honorable things and filling it with good things? Am I practicing speech that is edifying and encouraging (Eph 4:29). Am I fixing my eyes on Jesus via corporate worship, private devotion, and in my every day life? Am I walking with God and committing myself to follow Him wherever He leads me? If not, repent. Ask God for forgiveness, receive it, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you make the necessary changes to lead such a life.

Christ Our Wisdom

If I concluded my message here, it would be a moralistic message. “Be a better person. Act more wisely. Keep your heart. Watch your mouth. Focus your eyes. Ponder the path of your feet.” The problem is…we struggle to do these things. We often don’t act wisely. We are adept at acting upon our own wisdom. And the Bible calls that sin. So where is our hope?

1 Corinthians 1:26-30 reads,

“²⁶For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

This passage tells us what we already know about ourselves: we are not wise. In fact, we are foolish in our sin. But that’s good news, because God chose to take us who were foolish to shame those who are wise in the world’s eyes. And how did He do that? By sending His Son, who became to us wisdom from God, and brought us righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

Jesus is our wisdom. He is not just the epitome, the personification, or the embodiment of wisdom. He is the incarnation of wisdom! And if we are in Him, we can walk in wisdom. Let me give you an example from the proverbs we’ve discussed tonight.

Isaiah 50:6-7, a messianic prophecy, states,

⁶“I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.
⁷But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.”

This phrase “I have set my face like a flint,” is a figure of speech for resolute determination. It’s a word picture for “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you” (Prov 4:25) and “ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure” (Prov 4:26-27). In this prophecy, the Messiah says, “though I will give my back to those who strike, though I give my cheeks to those who pull out the beard, though I will experience disgrace and spitting, The Lord will help me, therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. I will do what He calls me to do.”

Luke 9:51-56 references this prophecy when Jesus transitions His ministry from teaching and healing to traveling to the place of His death. Luke 9:51, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set His face to go to Jerusalem.”

Luke is intentional in His wording, recalling the messianic prophecy from Isaiah 50:6-7. Jesus, the Messiah, though He would be struck on the back, though his face would be abused, though he would be disgraced and spit upon, set His face like flint toward the place where these things would take place. He was resolute. He pondered the path of His feet, and His path was sure. He followed it all the way to the cross, where He would die for our sins.

Why? Because of His love for us. Because God desires us to know Him and to live wisely, two things that we cannot do on our own. We do not naturally live in the way that we have been discussing. We want to live our own way. Just like Adam and Eve did. They rejected God’s wisdom and pursued their own destructive wisdom.

So Jesus comes, lives a life of perfect wisdom, and pays the penalty for all our sin- all our rebellious false-wisdom, so that when we repent of our own wisdom, our own sinful ways, and trust His life, death, and resurrection, we can be saved, filled with the Spirit, and enabled to live wisely.

So where are you tonight? Have you trusted Christ- the wisdom of God? Are you walking in His wisdom? Are you keeping your heart by watching your speech, your eyes, and your feet? Let us trust Christ and imitate Him. That’s what wisdom looks like for us. That’s the good life. And that’s what brings God glory- now and for eternity!