Wisdom Speaks: “But since you rejected me when I called, and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand, since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and troubles overwhelm you. Then they will call to me, but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me.” (Proverbs 1:24-28)
The rural farm family in which I grew up shared a lot of maxims, figures of speech, and proverbs that no doubt had been handed down for generations. “Stewing in your own juice” and “Having to lie in the bed you have made” were two which described the inevitability of having to live with the consequences of your own decisions. The point of these—and a host of similar ones—was to embed a sense of responsibility and to encourage the virtue of teachability. Note: I called this a virtue…and I believe that it is.
When I served with the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry, I often heard Dr. Bill Bright say that the only two requisites for staff were “a heart for God and a teachable attitude.” While the personnel department had expanded this list of qualifications significantly(!), Dr. Bright was on the mark. These two attributes are foundational to life and success.
The five verses above are part of a fourteen-verse (1:20-33) mini-essay on the consequences of unteachability from Proverbs 1. In this passage, Wisdom—a personification of the knowledge and counsel of God—calls out to those who will listen…knowing that some won’t.
The operative phrases in this passage are “refused to listen,” “paid no attention,” “did not follow my advice,” and “did not want me to correct you”—all lethal responses when God speaks.
Principle: If refusal to listen to the wise counsel of peers is stupidity, refusal to listen to the counsel of God is to solicit judgment.
Years ago, Court TV (now TRU) channel launched a program for school students entitled Choices and Consequences. The curriculum was designed to expose teens to the destructive consequences of bad choices, the ones highlighted in the dreadful court cases chronicled on the TV channel. The zinger in the choices word is that passive nonresponse is also a “choice.” In management theory, this is called the “decision of no decision.” When one makes a decision not to decide, this is a powerful choice often bearing significant consequences. It is often motivated by the wishful notion that major issues not addressed will somehow vanish by themselves.
Principle: A yes or no decision is clearly the one most recognized as having effect, but choosing not to decide can create more impact than a yes or no.
The portion of the above passage beginning, “I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you” is terrifying! Taken out of context, this message makes God appear as a vengeful, sadistic ogre. To interpret it this way ignores the fact that the unteachable person has chosen his fate by ignoring law and wise counsel. Justice scorns those who choose their fate and then whine about it when it comes. The account of the kid who murdered his parents and then pled for mercy from the court because he was an orphan is dark humor. It is also laughable.
In 2006, a judge sentenced Paris Hilton to jail time for driving with a suspended license. As Paris and her friend were leaving the court, her friend was reported to have said of the judge, “He was so mean.”
Administering justice is never mean, and God isn’t mean when He scorns those who reject His law and counsel—especially when teachable compliance is offered as a way of escape and a source of blessing. What would really be mean would be His winking at Hitler’s crimes or punishing Mother Theresa for them. Injustice is the ultimate offense…against God and its victims.
Principle: Refusing to heed God’s counsel is to volunteer for the dire consequences and to earn scorn from the Counselor you’ve rebuffed.
In the extreme, it can be said that nobody goes to hell without choosing to go there…by ignoring the warnings against it or the free offer of escape.
[from “Wisdom for the Trenches” by Dr. Larry W. Poland]