So they will be life to your soul and adornment to your neck.  Proverbs 3:22

There is a two-fold set of rewards that God promises for those who gather to themselves sound wisdom and discretion for their lives.  The first is what we’ve dealt with for the past three days.  It is having God’s life in our souls.  We’ve looked at how this works in the threefold way that our souls function – in our mind, will, and emotions. 

The next picture painted for us is that of something adorning our necks.  There were several things that were hung about people's necks that served as adornment.  One was a medal that was given because of a victory at the games.  This medal signified victory and the honor given to the victor in that moment.  When we walk with God instructing and leading us, we will see victory over several things.  We will see victory when we say no to this present world and the moral paths that it would have us walk.  We will see victory over the devil and the lies and flaming darts that he shoots at us to get us off track.  We will also see victory over our own sinful flesh and the ways that it wants to have its own way. 

Another way we see an ornament put around someone’s neck is in Daniel when Belshazzar puts one around Daniel’s neck to signify that he is the third ruler in the kingdom.  What this adornment meant was that Daniel had authority.  Sound wisdom and discretion will grant us authority in our lives.  There is something about walking in God’s ways that brings authority to what we say and what we do for Him.  It is one thing to give our opinion on a matter, and quite another when we share God’s Word with all the authority of God Himself in what we offer to others. 

The last way that I will describe this “adornment” to our neck is in the way most of us see it almost every day.  It is when we see adornment on women to create beauty.  I have a wife and four daughters who wear necklaces that truly enhance their beauty.  I am amazed at how a little dangly piece of metal with something on the end of it can match an outfit they are wearing – and even add to it.  That is what God’s wisdom does to our lives.  It helps bring the beauty of the Lord to our countenance, to our attitudes, and to our words.  There is such a beauty that He grants us when we choose to speak His Words in the situations that we face.  Proverbs says that these words can be like apples of gold in settings of silver.  They are truly beautiful – and can bring such comfort, encouragement, and blessing to those who hear them.

May God bless us continually with these wonderful ways that he adorns our necks as we speak with sound wisdom and discretion.  May He grant wonderful authority, victory, and beauty to our lives daily.  Embrace wisdom from Him and you will have these things.  

So they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck.  Proverbs 3:22

If this is not enough to bless us for a lifetime - we also see that the life of God is being poured not just into our minds and wills - but also our emotions.  This is a twofold blessing to us.  First, we are protected from having our emotions lead us.  Too often we find that we are far more emotionally driven than Scripture and Holy Spirit led.  We feel a certain way emotionally and we allow that "feeling" to be what leads us.  This can be dangerous because I can speak personally of how often I just didn't "feel" like being a Christian in my attitude or actions.  This did not come to me in that particular package, because I think it would be far easier to reject.  It came to me in a variety of packages.  I just don't feel like getting up and having my quiet time.  I just don't feel like reading the Bible right now.  I just don't feel like witnessing to that person.  Then there are the feelings of anger, resentment, bitterness, and a host of other negative emotions that come in dealing with people.  One area I don't want to forget in sharing these things is times when desires rise up within me calling for fulfillment.  At times those desires run contrary to Scripture, yet if I walk only in my emotional state, I will find myself following those emotions into something that is sin.  But there is another way.  That way is learning to examine emotions with the Word - and to reject emoitons that will lead to sin and to choices that I will regret later.

When we speak of emotions there is a picture that is very instructive.  That picture is the one where we see the difference between being driven by emotion versus being led by the Spirit of God.  When sheep are being driven - the one driving them is the butcher.  He is driving them to the slaughter house - and ultimately to their death.  The one who leads the sheep is the shepherd.  When we are driven by our emotions - the world, the flesh, or the devil is most likely in control.  They want to drive us through moment by moment feelings that we have rather than by the life of God, which would instruct us in what is right.  The difference here is that one will drive us by whatever feeling is dominant in the moment, while the other will help us to discern between actions that are good or bad.  We will discern that even though we may have positive emotions immediately by doing something - the long term effects will be much worse.  In the same way we may be led by God to choose something that may not bring immediate gratification, yet in the long run will bring great blessing into our lives.  Without the Spirit of God using the Word of God to lead us in the way of the life of God, we may make many foolish choices simply because we were emotionally driven at the moment to make them.

There is also a wonderful way that God grants us emotions as well.  As we learn to embrace the work of God in our emotions we will have times when we can release ourselves to wonderful emotions as well.  Jesus experienced great joy as well as weeping and sorrow in the time He was on the earth.  His was a wonderful example of how God works in us, even using our emotions as He does that work within us.  Worship is a place where this can happen - having strong emotions toward God as we sing to Him and praise Him.  Obedience can yield incredible emotion as we do the will of God and are rewarded for it with a sense that things are good.  God may move us to great emotion in prayer - where we have seen in Scripture that people often weep and grieve before God as they intercede before God and let their emotions out before Him.  All these are beautiful ways that God works in our emotions.  As we are taught by His Spirit of His ways and know Him - these things can be embraced and even help us as we learn to live our lives for His purposes.

How important it is to experience the life of God in our souls - and by that to experience Him in our emotions.  We can choose to be driven by our emotional state of mind in what we do.  To be driven in this way is a horrible way to live, for our feelings may swing from one extreme to another.  To be led by the Spirit involves setting ourselves in a direction according to God's Word - and to submit our emotions to Him.  He will help us to know over the course of our lives how to reject certain emotions that would lead us astray, and how to embrace others which will come as He guides us through life.

So they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck.  Proverbs 3:22

We are looking at how God gives us both instruction in theological truths about His ways and Himself and how these are used to make practical decisions in life.  Today, we will look at how God gives life to our souls – and how this is manifest in God working in our will to choose His way instead of another way.

Consider how God, who gives us knowledge is not just placing information into our minds, but is seeking to influence our wills as well.  As we make choices - willing ourselves forward in life - those choices are bathed in a wonderful sauce that has both sound theology as well as sound practice as ingredients.  Every choice has behind it the Scriptures and the ways of God as its foundation.  Rather than shooting from the proverbial hip, we find ourselves shooting from "the Script."  The Script I speak of is the Word of God - the guide for our lives that has been given to us by inspiration of the Holy Spirit - and now which is being taught to us daily by the same wonderful Holy Spirit as well.

Consider for a moment a scenario where you are facing a decision.  Imagine with me that in the midst of making that decision that a thought comes into your mind to act.  As you ponder that course of action suddenly another voice enters the picture.  The first thought may be appealing to your flesh - it may have all the benefits of the world attached to it - and it may even have the approval of someone you desire to impress.  But as this second voice or thought comes into the picture - you are instructed that "willing" that way would be contrary to God's Word.  Making that choice would in effect be choosing sin.  Now you have a choice - a true choice between two things - God's way or another way.  Which will you choose? 

This is how God's Word and God's wisdom works in your will.  God said to Israel through Moses that God was setting before them life and death.  This simply meant that they could choose the ways of the world - the ways of Egypt and Canaan where they were headed - or - they could choose God's ways which had been clearly taught to them in the Law.  Moses said that a way of blessing or cursing was right before their eyes.  Remember that often the way of sin is pleasant at first.  It might taste good, feel good, look good - but later it is NOT GOOD!  God's ways may involve not feeling so great at first - it even may involve saying, "No" to a desire that is strong within you.  But God's work in your will is to fortify you with a knowledge of Him and His ways that will enable you to say, "No" to sin and "Yes" to righteousness.  You will find life and power to make the proper choice.  But, one thing to remember is that in the end - even though knowledge is there, even though a direction is made clear, and even though power is offered to complete the deal - you still must choose! 

It is a wonderful thing to see that God is wanting to work in your will.  His sound wisdom and practical application will come to you as the Holy Spirit teaches you.  He will come to offer instruction to you - and that instruction will inveritably involve a choice.  You must choose His way - and until you do the fullness of that power will not be released.  But know this - in doing this God has freed you to make a choice - and to be blessed as you choose His way.  You are not in bondage to sin or self in these moments.  You will choose - and He is working to help you choose sound wisdom to make that choice - and practical instruction to know how to carry it out.  What a wonderful thing to experience God in this way!  What a wonderful opportunity to do what is good and right.  In those moments dear saints let me give you a biblical admonition - just do it!

So they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck.  Proverbs 3:22

Solomon has told us that there are two things we must not let out of our sight.  The previous verse tells us that these things are a lofty thinking about God given to us by His Word and His Spirit, as well as a way to take God's wisdom and flesh it our in wonderfully practical ways of living each and every moment we are alive.  Now Solomon then tells us that such a way of thinking and choosing will lead to life in our souls and adornment to our neck.  The two pictures given to us here are beautiful to see. 

The first speaks of God's life being poured into our very souls.  Since the soul refers to the mind, will, and emotions, we see a beautiful work going on in the immaterial part of our being due to this wisdom and practical thinking.  This wonderful work of God is that our mind is being educated by both sound theology and practical out workings of Who God is in our daily decisions.  Thus our thinking is guided not by the world system, but by the Holy Spirit as He teaches us God's Word and ways. 

How does this work?  It works as we choose the discipline of reading God's Word daily.  As we read, we submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit Who then teaches us what is in the Word.  As verse 21 has said, we are being instructed by the Holy Spirit in two ways.  First we are being taught the deep, wonderful theological truths of Who God is.  We are being founded upon sound wisdom from God.  That begins with knowing Who He is and how He, as the penultimate, is sovereign over all things in our lives.  We learn what Moses requested while on the journey of the Exodus with Israel.  He asked, "Let me know Your ways that I may know You." (Exodus 33:13)  This request gives us so much insight into how God gives us life in our souls - here speaking of the how He does this in our minds.  As we read God's Word - the Holy Spirit helps us to know the ways of God - what He likes, what He dislikes, what He wants, what He commands - and a hundred different things like this.  As we know His ways we will find ourselves also beginning to know Him too.  As this knowledge about God becomes a knowing of God - our minds will be filled with the right information about this world and how to live in it.  The knowledge we receive will not be given to us by the fallen society that has rejected God, but by the God who created it and wants it used for His glory. 

Is your mind being blessed and filled with the Word of God?  Is God showing you daily the way to walk - and through that knowledge also steering you into His will?  Are you seeing your mind being changed as you learn of His ways - and ultimately learning Who He is and What He deisres?  This is the way of life - and it is how wisdom enters into our thinking so as to bless our entire lives.  Turn to Him today - turn to His Word and learn from it - learn from Him.  This is the way of blessing - and the way that will lead you to life in your minds.

My son, let them not vanish from your sight; Keep sound wisdom and discretion,  Proverbs 3:21

Two things are mentioned to us in this proverb - and we are told to always keep these things in sight as we walk through life.  The two things mentioned here are sound wisdom and discretion.  Because these are such important things, it would be very wise for us to define both of them.

Sound wisdom is the Hebrew word, "tushiyah" and it means, the essence or substance of a thing.  The place where we receive such foundational level wisdom is from God Himself.  He is the ultimate essence of substance of all things.  To know this and to think and reason from this is sound wisdom.  When we embrace this world view of life - we embrace seeing all things from His perspective - and reason all things from the counsel of His Word.  Here, dear saints is the very sustance and essence of wisdom.  All other things are infinitely less than this and they are infinitely inferior to the wisdom and direction that God brings us as we turn to Him and listen to Him.  We do this by studying His Word and doing so under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit.  Do not let God's Word and the instruction of His Spirit depart from your sight as you walk in this world.  This is a difficult thing because there are so many different things clamoring for our attention in this world.  To listen to them and to heed them is NOT wisdom - and will lead to our lives being lived for that which is not the substance and essence of why we are alive.  We will live a small life - and one that will not last.  Staying focused on God and His Word is the way to live a life of meaning and purpose. 

The second word used here is discretion.  This is the Hebrew word, "umezimmah" and it means, "to resolve to act according to the directions of God's wisdom.  What is fascinating here is that discretion is setting our lives practically on the foundation of God's wisdom and Word.  It speaks of taking the lofty purposes and intentions of God that come from the sound wisdom gained in His Word - and then using those to make every day decisions and plans which help us to live our lives according to His will.  We must be able to take the information we gain in understanding God and His ways - and boil it down to practical application in our lives.  If we do not do this - then all we have are lofty thinking and high principles in our heads with no action upon them in our lifestyles.  Though it is nice to have lofty thinking - it is useless if it is not put to practice in choices every day.

Solomon is telling us that God wants both lofty and deep thinking on Who He is and what He desires in our lives - as well as very practical ways of taking that knowledge and making it a part of our choices every day.  This is truly the whole picture of Godly, wise living.  It does not shun the foundational thinking that makes a worldview - yet it also does not make a wise and godly lifestyle a matter of mental exertion only.  God has set the two things that will truly bless our lives here in front of our faces.  We have therefore a choice - to embrace both the instruction in deep, wonderful theological thinking about life - as well as the very practical activities that will make that knowledge a part of how we live every day.