Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. – Proverbs 13:10 (NIV)

Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom. – Proverbs 13:10 (KJV)

52 Proverbs in 52 Weeks – Week 49
This week’s theme:  God’s Life Hacks, simple Biblical truths to increase the fruitfulness and happiness of our lives.

God’s Life Hack:  Take Advice

For the past 48 weeks we’ve explored nuggets of God’s wisdom and guidance from the book of Proverbs. The verses we’ve studied offer truly life-changing advice, but…that advice is only life-changing if we choose to take it.

This week’s verse highlights one of the most common reasons we fail to heed good advice:  pride.  It takes humility to admit that we don’t have everything figured out, and it takes a teachable heart to accept advice from others. As we’ve discussed in previous posts, I think one of the great challenges we face as a society today is that we just think we’re too smart; that we’ve got it all figured out and don’t need to listen to God’s guidance or the Godly advice offered by those around us. That’s pride talking…and remember what Proverbs 16:18 warned about pride (see Pride Goes Before Destruction).

Putting a finer point on it, this year we’ve studied a number of Proverbs on choosing good friends, working diligently, being good stewards, guarding our hearts, having teachable hearts, seeking true wisdom, being kind, trusting God’s plan, …  but all of that wisdom from Proverbs doesn’t matter if we don’t actually heed the advice and put those principles into action in our lives.  Remember what the book of James has to say about action:
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only – James 1:22 (KJV) [emphasis mine]
…faith without works is dead – James 2:26 (KJV)

In closing, let’s look at two quick stories from the Old Testament that offer contrasting examples:

• Four consecutive kings of Judah, in their pride, ignored God’s warnings through Jeremiah to turn away from idolatry and turn back to God. As a result, Judah was captured, it’s people killed or taken into captivity, and most of Jerusalem was burned to the ground (read about it in Jeremiah 52).
• Pharaoh heeded God’s warning about an upcoming famine, was humble enough to listen to Joseph’s advice, and acted on that advice.  As a result, Egypt and surrounding nations were saved from the famine (read previous post here).

It seems strange to highlight the Pharaoh of Egypt as a better example than Kings over God’s people, but when it comes to heeding Godly advice…let’s be more like Pharaoh.

Here’s a link to more verse posts on  God’s Life Hacks.

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