At the end of your life, you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent—and you will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned reproof!” Proverbs 5:11-12, TLV
8 Benefits of a Prudent Life & How to Have Them. Here’s another “blink”* proverb. Tucked within a chapter on seduction, we find several verses that deal with prudence.
A prudent person is someone who acts or shows care and thought for the future. Given the first verse, we see that as this poor soul approaches the end of their life, there’s a lot of moaning and groaning due to foolish choices made over a lifetime.
What would a prudent lifestyle look like? Some of the choices that reflect prudence are:
- understanding ourselves
- distinguishing people from their situations
- discernment in dealing with people and situations
- ability to accept correction
- accountability
- restraint
- discipline of our mind and body
- an ability to foresee an action’s outcome
These may seem like “spiritual” gifts, but according to Proverbs, they are merely the fruits of living a wise life:
Proverbs 1: 1-6, TLV: The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
to acquire wisdom and discipline,
to understand the words of insight,
to receive instruction in wise behavior,
righteousness, justice and fairness,
to give discernment to the naïve,
knowledge and discretion to the youth
(let the wise listen and increase learning
and the discerning obtain wise counsel)
to understand a proverb and a puzzle,
the sayings of the wise and their riddles.
Proverbs 2: 1-17 goes into even greater detail of the benefits of pursuing our Heavenly Father’s wisdom.
Today’s proverb exhorts us to focus on exercising prudence
in our own life so that we don’t end up like the poor soul in this chapter.
How to do that is not some great mystery. It’s clearly delineated in Proverbs and related portions of Scripture. We really are equipped with an owner’s operating manual for living a life as a follower of Jesus and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
As the years tally in my life, I realize there were decisions I’ve made in the past that weren’t prudent and I’m paying the price today.
However, just as important, there are decisions I make today that can alter the future outcome of some of those poor decisions. From wearing sensible shoes, to how I spend my time and resources each day, to walking wisdom’s journey, to my relationship with the Lord and others, I can make prudent choices that make a difference in my life. Maybe even with a bit less moaning and groaning.
Think More About It
How has prudence and wisdom alleviated some of the “moans” and “groans” in your life?
Until tomorrow, may we live a prudent life, my friends.
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom
and his tongue speaks justice. Psalm 37:30, TLV
One of the attributes of Israel and her people is their strong sense of justice. The Jewish people’s history has been one of persecution for thousands of years. Which makes sense that justice would be important. Which is why Jewish people have joined minorities over the years to speak out against prejudice and civil rights. So, I ask, “Where are those they stood with, now? Why aren’t they marching and speaking out?” Where are the righteous? Let’s pray for boldness and wisdom for brothers and sisters in Messiah to speak and support Israel and the Jewish people. Yes? God bless you and Shabbat Shalom!
*A “blink” proverb is a proverb that on the surface, we don’t believe applies to us or is relevant for today. However, on closer reflection, there are significant insights and wisdom for us. Thanks to Dr. Raleigh Washington for the great analogy.
