The Nugget:
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
My Comment:
These verses from the book of Proverbs caught my attention when I began to read the Bible seriously as a new Christian. They contain sage advice.
I learned long after about a way of asking two questions whenever I read a passage of Scripture that adds greatly to my focus and understanding. Simply ask (1) What does this verse or passage say about my responsibility? (2) What does this verse or passage say about God’s responsibility?
Like this:
(1) “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart” = my responsibility
(2) “and lean not unto thine own understanding” = my responsibility
(3) “In all thy ways acknowledge him” = my responsibility
(4) “and he shall direct thy paths” = God’s responsibility
Very recently I read on an atheist website some commentary about these very verses in Proverbs. The atheists felt that this passage in Proverbs was nonsense and counterproductive to rational thinking for oneself. They especially complained about the phrase “lean not unto thine own understanding.”
I did not take the time to challenge their position. I merely reflected to myself that here was a passage that encouraged me at the very start of my Christian life. They surely have misread the intent of this passage and have failed to obey, at least to some degree, the very next verse: “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”
I am reminded of a very astute observation by Irwin H. Linton about anyone who does not believe the Bible. He said, as best I recall, that when he met anyone who did not believe the Bible that he knew what they did believe–they believe in evolution.
Further, Linton observed, he had never met an unbeliever who had ever read so much as one classic defense of the Bible and Christianity. I must say that I have never met any such unbeliever either.
But I will say to their credit, some of the atheists posting on the site to which I was invited to be a member are quite well read. Many of them are former Christians, some of them former pastors, some well-educated lay persons, who have for intellectual reasons left the faith.
That is why it is so important for Christians to not only read and know their Bibles, but also to study and thoroughly understand apologetics–the field of study that specializes in answering objections to the Bible and the Christian faith. I have been doing much reading and study in that direction of late.