Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
Proverbs 28:26 (ESV)
What is it about our minds that we put complete faith and trust in them? I had never really thought about this before, but as I read through Proverb 28 this morning, it resonated with me. “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool.” That’s a difficult saying to digest and process. It’s difficult because that is not only exactly what I am continually doing, but something that is a source of pride. I find myself trusting my mind above all else. My intake of knowledge and ideas is mixed in and calculated with all the other data and information that is settled in my mind already. I am continually processing, updating, and solidifying what I know, believe, and understand about my life and the world around me. I find myself trusting in my own mind above all else. I am a fool.
That’s quite humbling to think about. I don’t want to be a fool, yet I can look back over my life and see the proof of this proverb being worked out numerous times. How often have I trusted my mind to be the arbiter of truth and wisdom, when all along it was faulty and misaligned. I become a fool because I value my own knowledge and wisdom above all things. I think I am right. Wait, that is not exactly correct. I know I am right. This is a far more accurate statement. Since I know I am right, I see no reason not to trust in my mind. In my rightness, I miss something vital to the equation. I don’t have full and complete knowledge. I am not omniscient. I am not omnipotent. I am not omnipresent. Bottom line is that I am not God. I just pretend to be.
So the fool trusts in his own mind, but the person who walks in wisdom will be delivered. What does it mean to walk in wisdom? The fear of the Lord is wisdom. So walking in wisdom is a picture of humility. The wise person understands that he is not God. There is a sovereign ruler of all things, and he is the embodiment of wisdom. The person that walks in wisdom walks in a manner that uses his mind but doesn’t place absolute trust in his mind. Walking in wisdom is to have absolute trust in our sovereign God.
I want to be thankful for the mind that God has given me. A mind that can take in information and knowledge to make informed decisions. A mind that is able to understand the world around me. I want to use this mind and it’s capabilities to navigate this life and walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. Yet, my mind is frail and fragile. My mind is prone to believing lies. My mind is often deceived by others. My mind is often deceived by ME. I so easily lie to myself and believe those lies. Wisdom is not trusting my weak mind. Wisdom is fully trusting in God alone.
Excellent