Wisdom: Two Paths

Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.

-Proverbs 2:9-15

A common theme in Scripture depicts life as two paths: the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. I have always found this interesting for two reasons: despite "conventional wisdom," that teaches there are many paths, all equal and all leading to the same place, the True Wisdom of God in Christ teaches that there are only two paths-righteous and wicked.

One is good, the other evil. One leads to the knowledge of God, the other leads to the perversion of wickedness. One leads to eternal life and salvation, the other to eternal damnation and death.

But these two paths are not equal. One is Truth, absolutely and completely, the other is all falsehood and lies. There are basically two religions on earth, that of Christ and that of man. Anything that points to the cross of Christ for the total and complete forgiveness of sins is right. Anything that points to what man must do or can do will only lead to bitter slavery and eventual death.

The other reason I find this imagery of the paths or ways of life interesting is that it implies that we who are on certain path will walk in a certain way. This speaks to how we live our lives. If we, through the grace and mercy of God in Christ, are on the path of righteousness, then we will "walk the walk," so to speak, in Christ. If we are following our own perverse plans on the way of the wicked, we will also "walk the walk" to our own damnation.

God not only provides the Way, the Truth and the Life, He prepares us to walk in the Way, to learn and be instructed in the Truth, and to live that new Life in Christ.

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-Psalm 1-

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Amen.

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