Proverbs 1
1These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, 2for gaining wisdom and discipline, for comprehending words of insight, 3and for receiving instruction in wise living and in righteousness, justice, and equity. 4To impart prudence to the simple and knowledge and discretion to the young, 5let the wise listen and gain instruction, and the discerning acquire wise counsel 6by understanding the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. 7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. 8Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother. 9For they are a garland of grace on your head and a pendant around your neck. 10My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them. 11If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause, 12let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit. 13We will find all manner of precious goods; we will fill our houses with plunder. 14Throw in your lot with us; let us all share one purse”— 15my son, do not walk the road with them or set foot upon their path. 16For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood. 17How futile it is to spread the net where any bird can see it! 18But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives. 19Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors. 20Wisdom calls out in the street, she lifts her voice in the square; 21in the main concourse she cries aloud, at the city gates she makes her speech: 22“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge? 23If you had repented at my rebuke, then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you; I would have made my words known to you. 24Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand, 25because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction, 26in turn I will mock your calamity; I will sneer when terror strikes you, 27when your dread comes like a storm, and your destruction like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish overwhelm you. 28Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me. 29For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD. 30They accepted none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof. 31So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32For the waywardness of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. 33But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety, secure from the fear of evil.”
Life is short. Where are you going?
You just read God’s own words, and one day every one of us will stand before Him. “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). This life will be over sooner than you think — do you know where you are going when it is?
The Bible says, “Man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). If you died today, would you be ready?
Are you a good person?
Most of us think we are. But God doesn’t measure us against other people — He measures us by His Law. Look honestly at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3–17):
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall not make for yourself an idol.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- Honor your father and mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness.
- You shall not covet.
Have you ever told a lie — even a small one? Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours? Have you ever used God’s name as a curse word? Have you ever wanted what belongs to someone else? Jesus said that anyone who looks with lust “has already committed adultery … in his heart” (Matthew 5:28), and the Bible says “everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15).
If we’re honest, we have all broken God’s Law — and “whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). “There is no one righteous, not even one … there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10–12).
That leaves every one of us guilty before a holy God. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and “whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). This is why our world is full of tragedy — and without Christ, every life ends in the greatest tragedy of all.
But God made a way
“God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus lived the perfect life we never could, and on the cross He took the punishment we deserved: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Three days later He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
It’s like standing guilty in court when the judge steps down and pays your fine himself. Forgiveness is a free gift — you can’t earn it: “It is by grace you have been saved through faith … it is the gift of God, not by works” (Ephesians 2:8–9). “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” Jesus — John 10:10
What will you do with Jesus?
“Repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:15). Turn from your sin, and put your trust in Jesus alone — “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Don’t put it off — “now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
And when you turn to Him, you won’t be met with a frown — you’ll be met with a celebration. Jesus said, “there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). He is “mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness … He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). Like the father who ran to embrace his lost son, He is waiting with open arms — and heaven throws a party when you come home (Luke 15:20–24).
If you died today, where would you spend eternity? Today you can be forgiven, made new, and have real, abundant life — now and forever.
Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain.