Mensa Otabil - Enemies of Wisdom
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We’ve been talking about wisdom, and yesterday we discussed the friends of wisdom. Today, we’re going to look at the enemies of wisdom. Proverbs chapter 8, verse 13: «The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance, and the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate.» This passage is talking about what wisdom hates, and wisdom states that she hates pride and arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth. These three enemies are ones we must watch out for. Wisdom is always rooted in the fear of the Lord, so when we have wisdom, we respect God, honor His word, and honor His purposes. Anything that goes contrary to God’s way is generally an enemy of wisdom, but these three are specifically mentioned.
The first is pride and arrogance, set out as the first enemy of wisdom, so it must be significant. What is pride? Pride is having an excessively high opinion of yourself or ourselves, and arrogance is having an attitude of superiority over others. There is a place for healthy self-esteem, and it is okay for us to take pride in our work, our achievements, and what our children and parents have accomplished. That is a healthy pride. However, pride becomes a problem when you only see that value in yourself and fail to recognize it in others. You may think your child is smart, but you deem everyone else’s child not smart; you may believe your work is exceptional, but dismiss everyone else’s work as less than great. When that mindset prevails, where you only esteem yourself and have no regard for others, that is pride and arrogance. It is an enemy of wisdom. Simply put, you cannot possess this attitude and be a wise person.
Why is that? Why can a person not become wise when they are proud and arrogant? It is because they cannot receive correction or learn from anyone else, nor can they learn from their mistakes, as they never acknowledge their mistakes. They may even believe that their mistakes are the greatest things that ever happened. You know, there are people who never see any mistake they have made. When that is your attitude, wisdom will be very far from you.
Pride and arrogance are Enemy Number One. Enemy Number Two is called the evil way. The evil way is a path that rebels against God’s way, a way that opposes what is right or the righteous path. There are people who are always choosing a different way, saying things like, «I want to do things my own way,» or «I have my own way of doing it.» There is a way in which self-expression is good, but when we constantly choose our own way without considering any other options, we are walking on the evil way. We will make wrong and bad choices, ultimately ending up in a way that does not please God. The scripture says, «There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death.» While we should be confident in making right choices ourselves, we must not constantly insist on our own way without seeking guidance, help, advice, or counsel from others. The evil way is an enemy of wisdom.
Enemy Number Three is the perverse mouth. The perverse mouth refers to individuals who speak perverse words. When we say words are perverse, it means they go against what is right. So what are perverse lips or perverse words? They are lies, falsehoods, false witness, gossip, and spreading evil reports about people to destroy them. That is a perverse mouth speaking profanely. Unfortunately, many people today routinely speak profanity, even Christians. They adorn their speech with profanity and think it’s cute or clever. That is a perverse mouth. A perverse mouth reflects a lack of wisdom because wisdom brings self-control and decorum.
Therefore, it is crucial that while we seek wisdom, we put away arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth. Let’s pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, teach me to hate what You hate and to love what You love. Take away pride and falsehood from me. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»