Fountain of life

(Prov 16:22 NIrV) Understanding is like a fountain of life to those who have it. But foolish people are punished for the foolish things they do.

Once again, Solomon does not reach deep into the annals of divine truth to bring out unfathomable revelation. What Solomon tells us this morning is as much common sense as it is a proverb. If you have understanding and you apply that understanding to your decisions, then things will go well for you. The Hebrew word used for “understanding” in this verse is a word that is also translated as prudence, wisdom, and insight. When you have divine insight, wisdom, and understanding operating in your life, you become prudent in your decision making process.

And guess what? If you make good decisions you will get good results. There’s no mystery in that. Make no mistake, your life is a grand-sum-total of your decisions. But wait a minute! You may be thinking, “Hold on. But what about God’s providence? What about God’s sovereignty? Doesn’t God do everything? And if God is doing everything, then why do my decisions matter?” While God is sovereign and provident, you know that that does not mean that He does everything.

The truth is that Jehovah does not have to wait until Friday to see what you are going to do on Friday and He, in all His sovereignty, has made plans for you that coincide with the decisions that you will make. Make no mistake, God wants to operate in your life, but for the most part, He waits on us to cooperate with Him. He doesn’t fight against our will. This is why it is so very important that we develop in His wisdom and understanding. When we align our thinking with His, our ways with His desires, and our decisions with His Word, we get good (and Godly) results.

Solomon uses the term “fountain of life” several times in Proverbs (see 10:11, 13:14, and 14:27). The picture he paints is that of a fountain that is refreshing, life sustaining, and inexhaustible. When divine wisdom is the foundation upon which you make decisions your life is awesome, enjoyable, and interesting.

As good as that sounds, the other side of the coin sounds equally as bad. Solomon tells us that fools are punished for the foolish things they do. Fools are considered fools because they are foolish. Webster’s dictionary definition of a fool is a person who lacks sense, judgment, prudence or discretion. This is a picture of the anti-wise! A fool ignores divine counsel and makes the same mistakes over and over again. They get punished, not because God is mean spirited or cold-hearted, but because they make punishable offenses.

If you make poor decisions you will get poor results and it WILL NOT be God’s fault. Good or bad, you are where you are today because of the decisions you have made in the past and you will be where you will be tomorrow because of the decisions you make today. Back in chapter 13 Solomon made it plain, saying, “Sound judgment is praised, but people without good sense are on the way to disaster” (13:15).

So what does this mean to you ? It means that God created a system of laws and principles – sowing and reaping, cause and effect, and the free will of humans – that governs the earth. The choice is yours. You can either seek, receive, and incorporate His wisdom in your decisions (resulting in a fountain of life) or you can ignore His counsel altogether and take the way of the fool (which results in punishment).

Father, I completely understand the importance of my decisions and I declare, by faith, that I make sounds decisions daily. I can say that with confidence, because I have determined to make Your Word the foundation for my life. I don’t make decisions that go against Your counsel. I force my will to align with Your Word. I will my will to honor You. In so doing, I know that I am becoming more and more like You daily and that I am developing in Your wisdom. I cautiously consider the decisions that I make and I refuse to be the fool that endures constant punishment. I am a Godly wise man/woman and I enter this day expecting to enjoy the fountain of life that You have in store for those you apply Your truth! In Jesus’ name. Amen!