Self-Inflicted Wounds

Proverbs 8:36

“But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.”

Normal people do not go around purposely injuring themselves. Those who do are thought to have something seriously wrong with them. This is not to say that sometimes we are in the middle of doing something stupid and get hurt. No, this is a purposeful, malicious bent to do oneself harm. In fact, purposely doing harm to oneself is also thought of as being sick in the head. Society takes such people and puts them in contact with doctors who can get down on the inside of those people and fix them mentally, hopefully.

The Bible says those who hate wisdom love death. That is right, death. Death in the same manner as the person who purposely injures themselves. This death is not physical but rather spiritual and soulful. Solomon writes that even those who fail to find wisdom harm themselves.

So, how do we find wisdom and make sure we are not putting ourselves into the mentally disturbed group? At the beginning of chapter 8, Solomon writes that wisdom calls out and understanding raises her voice. You can find them at the highest point where paths meet. They can be found beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance. In other words, if you are looking for wisdom, you will find it at the places of worship, the high places.

Oftentimes, the Israelites would place altars at the high places where roads meet so all could worship. Do you find yourself in the place of worship regularly? Solomon is referring to a place you frequent often. You will find her at the gates of the city, he says, referring to the place you go to do business or work. Do you forget about your faith, or are you asking the Lord to fill your mind with wisdom from above while you are at work?

If wisdom and understanding are crying out loud for someone to hear, then you have no excuse not to listen. The foolish ignore the wisdom of the Lord and say it is not for them. They return to their foolish ways like a dog returns to its vomit. Self-imposed harm can come from not listening to the wisdom of the Lord. It may come from an unlikely source, but it is from the Lord. One very likely source is the Bible. Do you read the Word every day? It may be time to start because you never know when sin will be coming out to meet you.

Prayer: Father, help me to find and listen to Your wisdom, Lord. Too often, I ignore it, but that changes today. Today I will listen and find wisdom from the Word and meditate on it day and night until it becomes a wellspring of wisdom from You, flowing from my innermost being. In Jesus’ name, amen.