Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.
We by nature choose things that seem right, but lead to death. That is why we need divine illumination in life. Repeatedly we read in the proverbs warnings about choosing the wrong friends or the wrong path. In counseling his son, the father in Proverbs says “my son, walk not thou in the way with them ( those who do not fear God) refrain thy foot from their path.” Why? “Because they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.”
The harvest of hanging with the wrong crowd is a harvest of deceit and disappointment. Now, you can learn that the hard way if you choose. You can ignore the warnings of Scripture and live your life doing what seems right to you, but you will reap a harvest of shame and despair. The way of the transgressors is hard. Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
How then do we know the right way to live? The right people to keep company with? By reading and listening to God’s Word. Hear the words of our Heavenly Father, beloved. “He [is in] the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth. The way of the LORD [is] strength to the upright: but destruction [shall be] to the workers of iniquity. The way of a fool [is] right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel [is] wise.”
Do not be a self-confident fool. You cannot afford the cost. When deciding what to do, what to say, where to go, don’t follow your instincts, pray and follow the way of The Lord. Remember, a man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
