The plans of the heart belong to man,
But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord (Proverbs 16:1).

The mind of man plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps (Proverbs 16:9).

The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the Lord (Proverbs 16:33).

The message of these three Proverbial couplets is the same: While man is responsible for his intentions, God controls every outcome. This should be immensely comforting for every believer, who has sense enough to acknowledge his ignorance, weakness, and folly. He can at the same time know that God can make his crooked path straight (Proverbs 3:5-6). And we have these great promises as believers:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30).

Friends, this is my comfort every morning, for I daily regard myself with painful disappointment. I come woefully short of my own standards and so, I imagine, infinitely short of God's. Yet, I am reminded that God is FOR me and not against me (Romans 8:31). And He, who controls every outcome, will cause every outcome for my ultimate good. Therefore, I will hope in the LORD!

Aaron Shust - "My Hope is In You"

The verse I want to highlight comes from 18:15. The mind of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it.

We are passionate about the things we are interested in. If we are baseball fans, we are pretty much glued to the set of the television from April to October. If we are passionate about martial arts, we want to be doing martial arts, and more than one day a week. We want to be the best we can.

We are also passionate about acquiring things. When I was small, and even now, I loved to collect rocks. I played baseball one summer, and spent most of the games in left field toeing the grass aside so I could put rocks in my pocket. I want to acquire knowledge like I acquired the rocks. I want to be known as a discerning person.

So I am going out on a limb here and I am going to pray that my mind seeks discernment. What is discernment? The merriam webster dictionary defines discernment as "the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure."

So why can I not become passionate about acquiring discernment and knowledge? Why can I not pray for revelation from the Lord about scriptures and then I want to watch the change that happens in me.

There is nothing stopping me but me

Here's a puzzling verse, but I am convinced it has a very signficant counsel for us. Proverbs 17:19 reads,

He who loves transgression loves strife,
And he who exalts his gate seeks destruction.

In keeping with Hebrew poetry, these two lines are in parallel and so carry a related message. The one who loves transgression is connected to the one who exalts his gate (or "makes high his door"). How is the activity of one related to the other?

The second line may be easier to unpack than the first. The sense is that when one puts up a high gate, it conveys a message for everyone else to keep out. It also conveys an indirect message that something valuable is being held behind the high gate. And just as a safe deposit box would attract a thief, so a high gate would invite enemy attack. The enemy would be enticed by the suggested treasure for which a high gate was necessary to protect it. I don't think the "high gate" is just a euphemism for pride, as some commentators suggest. There is no warrant for reading the line metaphorically when a literal reading makes good sense. In fact, I remember seeing a movie where a thief was confounded in his search for a priceless treasure. He thought it would be kept in a vault and surrounded by heavy security, but it turned out to be something right out in the open for all to see. No one could have imagined that something so priceless would not be locked up. But that was the wisdom of the one who secured it. By acting contrary to what everyone imagined, he kept the treasure safe for generations, confounding even the greatest of thieves. Back to the point.. Putting up a high gate invites enemy destruction.

Now, what is the meaning of the parallel proverb,  "He who loves transgression loves strife?" Transgression is defined as violation of the law and, in a more general sense, sin or wrongdoing. And strife is defined as contention and, in a more general sense, conflict. What then is the relationship between wrongdoing and conflict? If in the second line we saw that putting up a high gate invites enemy destruction, perhaps there is a sense that wrongdoing invites conflict. Let us consider some situations. If I love to take advantage of people, wouldn't this invite complaints, criticism, nasty rumors about me, and perhaps even lawsuits? In more extreme cases, if I loved lying, murder and theft, wouldn't this invite civil and criminal prosecution? Just as a high gate is a lure for enemy destruction, so loving transgression is a lure for contention or conflict with others.

The moral lesson seems so obvious to us. Why would Solomon even write a Proverb about it? I think he does it for two reasons. First, while we love to sin, we rarely weigh the consequences of sin. The proverb reminds us that sin and its consequences are intimately related such that to desire one is to desire the other. Second, a concrete image (i.e. a high gate inviting enemy destruction) helps us to visualize and more clearly perceive what otherwise may be just an abstraction. The one who put up the high gate did so for greater security, but little did he realize that it also heightened his risk of invasion. The one who loves transgression may only have thought of his gain and pleasure, but little did he realize that others would take him to task on it. The purpose of the proverbial couplet is to enlarge our perspective and dissuade us from pursuing sin.