Proverbs 28:17-28: a reflection

17A man who is tormented by blood guilt will be a fugitive until death. No one will support him. 18Whoever walks blamelessly is kept safe; but one with perverse ways will fall suddenly. 19One who works his land will have an abundance of food; but one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty. 20A faithful man is rich with blessings; but one who is eager to be rich will not go unpunished. 21To show partiality is not good, yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread. 22A stingy man hurries after riches, and doesn’t know that poverty waits for him. 23One who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than one who flatters with the tongue. 24Whoever robs his father or his mother and says, “It’s not wrong,” is a partner with a destroyer. 25One who is greedy stirs up strife; but one who trusts in the LORD will prosper. 26One who trusts in himself is a fool; but one who walks in wisdom is kept safe. 27One who gives to the poor has no lack; but one who closes his eyes will have many curses. 28When the wicked rise, men hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous thrive.

Among the proverbs gathered here is a pointed contrast: Whoever trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be kept safe. The proverb warns against a particular kind of folly: trusting in ourselves, relying on our own heart, our own judgment, our own understanding, as though it were sufficient. Such self-trust, the proverb says, is folly; safety lies not in trusting ourselves but in walking in a wisdom beyond our own.

Notice what the proverb calls folly: trusting in your own heart. We tend to think of confidence in ourselves as a virtue, and self-doubt as a weakness. But the proverb warns that trusting our own heart, our own judgment and understanding, as though it were reliable and sufficient, is actually folly, because our hearts are not as trustworthy as we assume. The wise person does not lean on his own understanding, but walks in a wisdom greater than his own, and is kept safe.

That cuts against a deep instinct to trust ourselves. We are often confident in our own judgment, sure that our own heart will guide us rightly, reluctant to submit our thinking to any wisdom beyond our own. But Scripture consistently warns against this: the heart is deceitful; trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Do not trust your own heart as though it were an infallible guide; it is not. Walk instead in the wisdom of God, humbly submitting your judgment to his, and you will be kept safe. Self-trust is folly; the safe path is to walk in a wisdom greater than your own.

Lord, your word warns that whoever trusts in his own heart is a fool, but the one who walks in wisdom will be kept safe. Guard me from the folly of trusting myself. I tend to be confident in my own judgment, sure that my own heart will guide me rightly, reluctant to submit my thinking to any wisdom beyond my own. But my heart is not as trustworthy as I assume. Help me not to lean on my own understanding, as though it were an infallible guide, but to walk in your wisdom, humbly submitting my judgment to yours. Keep me from the self-confidence that Scripture calls folly, and lead me in the safe path of walking in a wisdom greater than my own. I trust in you, Lord, with all my heart; keep me from leaning on my own understanding.