May 11, 2023: It Looked Right And Seemed Right

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." (Proverbs 14:12, ESV)

Life is truly a journey! It has ups, and it has downs. It has places of great joy and places of sorrow as well. And the writers of Proverbs have seen and experienced much of life. The wise can see beyond what is just in front of them through the knowledge of God. They have learned to live in God's wisdom and fully realize what serving Him means, and what not serving Him entails.
    
We know that God's ways are not man's ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). And like a treasure hidden in a field—you have to look for it to find it. The issue is, when you are young or immature, you tend to take the path of least resistance, and you take the road that looks more pleasurable. What is unknown is many of these paths end in death and destruction.
    
The writer of Proverbs alerts the young man to this fact: Not everything that seems right, looks good, and makes sense to human knowledge is right. In fact, if you look beyond mere human sight, you will find the path you are about to take leads to death. How many young children have run into a street chasing a ball, unaware of the danger they just stepped into because it seemed right? "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." These very same words are repeated in Proverbs 16:25