“A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.” Proverbs 22:3
Forest Gump, a movie character, was a very simple man but sometimes he could say the most profound things. “Stupid is as stupid does”, Gump once said. This is what delineates the wise, or prudent, from the “simple”. Wise people do wise things. Stupid people do stupid things. It does not need to be more complicated than that.
A wise person will consider the consequences of his future actions. He thinks a little bit about what will happen if he does such and such. He might ask himself, “Where is that going to take me?, or “Is it worth the cost?” After pondering the inevitable end result of the lure that is calling his soul to indulge he runs the opposite direction.
Joseph is a good example of a prudent man. The wife of his master, Potipher, had a thing for Joseph. She tried and tried to seduce him without success. Scripture says that “Joseph refused”, saying: “My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:8,9).
Joseph was not so much concerned about getting caught as he was about offending a holy God. A moment’s satisfaction could not sway Joseph to do the wrong thing. His concern was not that he might end up in prison again but God would not be please with him. We all know the story – he ended up back in prison anyhow after Potipher’s wife lied about being attacked by Joseph. Not fair! Of course not, but in the end God’s favor was with Joseph and he later became the Prince of Egypt! Amazing story of a very prudent man. Here’s a very simple lesson: When you honor God, God will honor you. This is the blessing of a prudent man.
The problem with most people is that they think they can play with fire and not get burned. We think we can handle the temptation, telling ourselves we would “never…”. We actually do the opposite of hiding ourselves. We think that we play around with evil and not succumb.
What is it that tempts you the most — the sin that so easily entangles? What voice is constantly crying out for you to come and indulge? “Come lie with me”, said Potipher’s wife to Joseph day after day. How does Satan tempt you? It could be an illicit affair. It could be lying to make yourself look better than you are. It could be riches and the things of this world that you constantly have your eye on. It could be pride and your need to always be right. It could be your “right” to relax, and so you fail to work hard. There are a thousand temptations for a thousand men. What is yours?
If you play with evil you will eventually do evil. Don’t think that you can play with evil and not go too far. Even if you can, do you not think that God does not notice you playing around? Do you think He is pleased with you when you flirt but don’t indulge? When has flirting with evil become accepted to God as long as you don’t “cross the line”?
The prudent will stop, consider, and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. If you have any kind of a check in your spirit then don’t continue down that path. Ask yourself a couple of questions: Where will this eventually lead?; It it honoring to God? If not, then “hide”, run, get as far away from potential trouble as you can.
