Proverbs 14:8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit. A man may be "prudent," he may be clever, learned, astute; yet he may miss his way, he may lose his life, he may prove to be a failure. The wisdom of the prudent, that which makes prudence or ability really valuable, that which constitutes its virtue, is the practical understanding of life, the knowledge which enables a man to take the right path and keep it, the discretion which chooses the line of a true success and maintains it to the end. It is to perceive and to pursue the way that is - I. FINANCIALLY SOUND; avoiding that which leads to embarrassment and ruin; shunning those which conduct either to a sordid parsimony in one direction or to a wasteful extravagance on the other hand; choosing that which leads to competence and generosity. II. EDUCATIONALLY WINE; forming the habits which strengthen and develop the faculties of the mind, instead of those which dwarf, or narrow, or demoratize them. III. SOCIALLY SATISFACTORY; not going the way of an unwise and unsatisfactory ambition which ends in disappointment and chagrin; seeking the society which is suitable, elevating, honourable. IV. IN ACCORDANCE WITH INDIVIDUAL ENDOWMENT; So that we do not expend all our time and all our powers in a way which cuts against all our individual inclinations, but in one which gives room for our particular aptitudes, and develops the special faculty with which our Creator has endowed our spirit. V. MORALLY SAFE. It is a very great part of "the wisdom of the prudent" for a man to know what he may allow himself to do and where to go; what, on the other hand, he must not permit, and whither he must not wend his way. The path of safety to one man is the road to ruin with another. "Happy is he who condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth" (Romans 14:22). Wise is it in those, and well is it for them, who have discerned and who have decided upon those habits of life which are establishing in their hearts all Christian virtues and making to shine in their lives all Christian graces. VI. THE WAY OF HOLY SERVICE. The way of sacred service is so essentially the way of wisdom, that any "prudence" or cleverness that misses it makes the supreme mistake. On the other hand, the wisdom that leads to it and that preserves the soul in it is the wisdom to attain unto. This way, which is the end of our being and the crown of our life, includes (1) the service of Christ, and (2) the service of man. - C. Parallel Verses KJV: The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.WEB: The wisdom of the prudent is to think about his way, but the folly of fools is deceit. |
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