My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
² turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
³ indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
⁷ He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
⁸ for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.

⁹ Then you will understand what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
¹¹ Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.

¹² Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
¹³ who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,
¹⁴ who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
¹⁵ whose paths are crooked
    and who are devious in their ways. Prov. 2:1-15

Define wickedness.

My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
² turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
³ indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
⁷ He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
⁸ for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.

⁹ Then you will understand what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
¹¹ Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.

¹² Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
¹³ who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,
¹⁴ who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
¹⁵ whose paths are crooked
    and who are devious in their ways. Prov. 2:1-15

How is discretion a protection?

More than four years ago I embarked on a meditational journey through the Psalms. My practice has been to move verse by verse through the book asking meditational questions of my readers. You have come up with some great answers over the years, but I have provided few.

I have now finished the journey of asking about the Psalms. Now I have begun asking you about the Proverbs. While I begin that work I am also now beginning the journey of thinking on and answering my own questions through the Psalms. So! Let’s continue:

On May 22, 2016 in my Morning Direction From Scripture I asked:

Why do the nations conspire^[a]
    and the peoples plot in vain?
² The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
    against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
³ “Let us break their chains
    and throw off their shackles.” Psm. 2:1-3

WHY DO PEOPLE STAND AGAINST GOD?

I suppose there are lots of reasons people stand against God: Unbelief, Anger with God, Rebellion, Selfishness. Our list here could get very long very quickly.

Tonight I want to focus on one reason I think people are standing against God in our time.I believe many folks are doubly deceived because they don’t even realize they are standing against God. In fact many think they are standing with Him. Some are even convinced they are standing for Him. One reason so many are finding themselves (or perhaps going to find) themselves on the opposite of the line from God is cultural worldliness.

Cultural worldliness is what happens when people choose to “godify” their culture rather than share Jesus with people . The idea that we can save our culture … the idea that God loves our culture… the idea that God would love our culture if we would start doing x,y,z, or stop doing x,y,z is unbiblical.

God is not into culture. He is into people. God is not going to save any of the current cultures on Earth. He is going to judge them all and then when they are all destroyed He will set up Heaven’s culture which is completely different from any culture we have ever known no matter how widely traveled we are. The Bible says it this way,

“But as it is written:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Cor. 2:9

Now when we stop loving certain people because they do not fit our idea of what a godly culture entails we are choosing to stand on the opposite side of the line from Jesus. When we choose to try and “rescue” our culture from groups of people who see the world differently than us, we will find ourselves on the other side of the line from God who is not as concerned with our culture as He is with the people living in it. When we find our selves trying to preserve our way of life by judging other people with statements like “God hates______” We are on the other side of the line from God.

You know who God loves?

God loves men. God loves women. God loves white people. God loves black people. God loves Asian People. God loves Hispanic people. God loves Native American People. God loves Republicans. God loves Democrats. God loves Conservatives. God loves Liberals. God loves Communists. God loves Fascists. God loves Socialists. God loves heterosexuals. God loves homosexuals. God loves asexuals and transexuals and any other gender identifications we humans can come up with before Jesus comes. God loves Christians. God loves Muslims. God loves Buddhists. God loves…… God loves people.

And when we find ourselves loving our way of life more than we love people that Jesus died for, when we find ourselves more willing to fight for the environment or our freedom or our economy than we are willing to love people and share Jesus with them in the hope they will come to Him, we are standing against God.

My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
² turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
³ indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
⁷ He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
⁸ for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.

⁹ Then you will understand what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
¹¹ Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.

¹² Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
¹³ who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,
¹⁴ who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
¹⁵ whose paths are crooked
    and who are devious in their ways. Prov. 2:1-15

How does following the course God created us for show us what is right and just and fair?

My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
² turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
³ indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
⁷ He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
⁸ for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.

⁹ Then you will understand what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
¹¹ Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.

¹² Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
¹³ who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,
¹⁴ who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
¹⁵ whose paths are crooked
    and who are devious in their ways. Prov. 2:1-15

How does God being a shield work?

My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
² turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
³ indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
⁷ He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
⁸ for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.

⁹ Then you will understand what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
¹¹ Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.

¹² Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
¹³ who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,
¹⁴ who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
¹⁵ whose paths are crooked
    and who are devious in their ways. Prov. 2:1-15

Why do you think knowledge of God has to begin with the fear of God as described in verse 5