Posted on 12/26/2020 11:12:30 PM PST by Pilgrim's Progress
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished” (Proverbs 27:12).
TODAY’S VERSE:
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished” (Proverbs 27:12).
Right there is the definition of prudence. You can have confidence in your Bible. You don’t have to worry about the “originals” which no one in the last few thousand years have ever seen. We . . . have . . . God’s . . . preserved . . . and . . . Holy . . . Word . . . in . . . our . . . hands!
The definition of prudence is “seeing things in advance.” It is being concerned with, and dealing with, future results, sowing and reaping and so forth and so on. That's all a prudent man is. Before he does things, or says things, he is concerned about what effect it will have on his future, and somebody else’s future. A prudent teenager would not post something silly on Facebook that will keep him from ever getting hired by a decent company. He looks at how it's going to come out. He's got the long view, and not the short view.
Some people are only concerned in what they can get today. Bob Jones Sr. said, “Never sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.” In other words, don't throw away the future just for a thrill today. That's not a prudent man. That's a simple person. Solomon says, “The simple pass on, and are punished.” They don't see the result of what they're doing, they don't want to see it. They're just so wrapped up in what they're doing they don't want to see the punishment, the result, the judgment that will come upon them.
The prudent man hides himself from all that. That's a great passage! See, all it’s saying there is that a prudent man understands the law of sowing and reaping. And a simple do not understand that what you do today can affect you for bad tomorrow.
Be careful! Be cautious! Do not get surprised! What could happen that might hurt you? Optimism is risky; pessimism is safe. Learn wisdom. Prudent men look ahead and adjust their lives to avoid loss, pain, or trouble. Wise men are vigilant to spot changes coming that could cost them, and so they avoid them. Foolish men live day by day without regard to the future and get caught by life’s frequent changes, and so they are hurt by them.
Do you believe most of what you hear or read? Are you decisive and opinionated? Be careful! Wise men are cautious, critical, pessimistic, and skeptical about unproven assertions or situations. They do not believe all they hear or read, and they do not make decisions without carefully analyzing possible danger (Proverbs 14:15). Only foolish simpletons naively view the future and rush forward optimistically. And they get punished for it.
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And we see that being lived out before our very eyes every day.
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