Listen to Who?

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

LISTEN TO WHO?

Prov 16:20

20 Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

NIV

It is one thing to be able to take note of advice, accept it and put that advice into practice. The point here is as to whose advice or instruction are we listening to. The Psalmist wrote “Blessed is the man who does not take advice from the ungodly”. This always leads us to the question as to who is the ungodly. It would seem according to the Lord’s own definition or standard that anyone who has not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior would be an ungodly person. So this leaves us with but one source of instructions that we should heed in order to prosper. Again the Psalmist continues and points out that if we do not heed the instruction, or advice of the ungodly and do not walk or live in the same manner as ungodly people do, not that we will be sinless but that we do not live according to the same standards, or morality as those of the world do, and that if we do not mock, or give God lip service but delight in his law, in his instruction, and meditate on it day and night we will be as a tree planted by the stream of waters that bring bears fruit and whose leaf does not wither and whatsoever we do will prosper. So the point here is that it is only the instruction of the Lord that we should heed and in doing so we show our trust in him and thus we will be blessed. Do not listen to men, but listen to God. So we need to ask ourselves who are we listening to?