Walking with the Wise #4: When God Gives You What You Want

“Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, 

therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, 

and have their fill of their own devices.” 

—Proverbs 1:29-31

My children often ask me why we have rules for them. And I tell them, “It’s because we love you.” If we didn’t love our kids, we couldn’t care less what they do. We wouldn’t mind them staying up all night, or eating candy all the time. But because we do love them, we want what is absolutely best for them; therefore, we have rules to protect them.

God loves us and gives us His Word—which are His rules to live by. They are not meant to be burdensome, but a blessing—words by which we can discover what true joy is, as well as how to live in it. However, there comes a time, and only God knows that time, when, after continual rejection of God and His Word, God will allow a person to do whatever it is he or she wants to do. That’s what today’s proverb is about.

Solomon (the author of Proverbs), employs a writing device whereby wisdom is portrayed as a woman calling out to passersby. Wisdom is seen as another aspect of God’s creation, testifying to the greatness of who God is. Those who hear her will know what it means to be wise. But those who ignore or reject her are fools. In today’s passage, Solomon addresses those who ignored wisdom’s call, saying that they have hated knowledge and chose not to have “fear of the LORD.” And because of that, because they didn’t want wisdom’s counsel or reproof, God in His wisdom will give them over to what they want, and they will then suffer the consequences thereof.

It’s a bit like giving a child candy. Candy is good, provided one doesn’t eat too much of it. I remember that when I was a boy I begged my mom for a family-size bag of Skittles. When we got home I sat in front of the TV and proceeded to eat the entire bag of Skittles. She had warned me of the possible consequences but I dismissed them out of hand and kept on eating. What happened next is easy to guess. I started to feel sick and the next thing I knew I was in the bathroom throwing up my rainbow Skittles in all of their stomach acid glory. It was quite some time before I ever touched any Skittles after that. Why my mom let me eat the bag, I’ll never know, but I believe that there is a principle here that illustrates today’s proverb. The Skittles weren’t bad, but eating too many of them clearly was. And there are times, when after repeatedly ignoring wisdom’s pleas, God will give us over to what we want, and we will suffer the consequences thereof. God will sometimes let us have the object of our desire in order for us to understand what happens when we foolishly insist on getting what we want.

If only I would have listened to my mother in the first place, I never would have experienced the terrible pain of throwing up like that. But it did teach me a valuable lesson.. Listen to God’s Word. God’s Word tells us what is good and what is bad. God warns us through His Word and His spirit, and uses other believers to get our attention. It might seem harsh and unwelcome, but it’s for our benefit—so that we don’t get spiritually sick, perhaps experiencing something much worse than we ever imagined, which is why Solomon wrote, “therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.” In other words, God will sometimes let us experience the full consequences of our sin, so we might know how evil it is, and how much He truly loves us.

Where are you now in relationship with God? Are you continually rejecting God’s warnings to stop the sin you’re doing? Know that God may give you over to it. Don’t think you will escape the consequences of your actions. As Paul wrote,

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up”—Galatians 6:7-9.

Don’t continue to resist God; listen to Him, turn and embrace Him who went to the cross in your place, in order that you might walk in wisdom, and experience the joy that comes from a life lived in surrender to Him. Amen.