There Is A Way That Seems Right To A Man

As we look at the present world, we can see that it is filled with problems: hunger, ignorance, poverty, sickness, disease, hatred, violence, and war to name a few.

Everyday mankind struggles with these various problems, but men only seem to make limited, if any progress, with the myriad problems. Sadly, this is not a condition that is recent in origin. The problems we face trace all the way back to the first man and woman, Adam and Eve.

Adam and Eve received clear instruction from God on how to live. God told them, “And the Lord God commanded the man saying, of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

God gave man a choice. To walk humbly before God by eating of the tree of life, or to walk in a way contrary to God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Regrettably, Adam and Eve chose what the book of Proverbs describes as the foolish path. They chose the way that seems right to a man (Proverbs 16:25), and the end result of that path is death.

Death is the ultimate consequence of choosing to live a life apart from God. In the meantime, what impact did the choice of Adam and Eve have? “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). In other words, Adam set the pattern of sin and all of his descendants have followed that same path.

Sadly, mankind is going to continue to follow the way that seems right in their own eyes, and the problems we face on this earth will not be resolved.

However, as the Sabbath approaches, we might consider that God in His mercy has opened our minds to see that there is a better way. It is not the way that seems right to a man, but it is the way that seems right to God. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

One cannot gain knowledge of spiritual things if he begins at the wrong point, refusing to fear the Lord (i.e., to recognize God's character and respond by revering, trusting, worshiping, obeying, and serving Him).

The outcome of the fear of the Lord is described throughout the book of Proverbs, but the introductory verses give us a foretaste of what we can learn with the fear of the Lord as our foundation. “To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion — A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel” (Proverbs 1:2-5).

What a difference it will make once man learns that it is only through the fear of the Lord, and the application of God’s truths, that all these problems that plague mankind will be eradicated one by one.

Each Sabbath is a reminder that a world in which the “fear of the Lord” is foundational is sure to come.

Enjoy the Sabbath day,

Gary Smith