22 A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth
And does not know that want will come upon him.
23 He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor
Than he who flatters with the tongue.
24 He who robs his father or his mother
And says, “It is not a transgression,”
Is the companion of a man who destroys.
25 An [i]arrogant man stirs up strife,
But he who trusts in the Lord will [j]prosper.
26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool,
But he who walks wisely will be delivered.
27 He who gives to the poor will never want,
But he who [k]shuts his eyes will have many curses.
28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves;
But when they perish, the righteous increase.
I heard a strange thing a while back, or at least it seemed strange at the time. You’ve probably heard something like this in the movies, “what does your heart tell you?” Or maybe you’ve even said the words, “trust your heart, it’ll tell you what to do.” But our pastor said, “don’t trust your heart, that’s a terrible idea!”
Not sure if those were the exact words, but they are echoed by Solomon in v. 26, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool…” One would think the heart to be a little more reliable than our minds, cold and calculating. At least there’s room for a little human emotion, right? But God says, “Hold up, not so fast!” So then, are we to ignore the heart, and trust our rational mind instead?
Perhaps that is what Solomon means when he continues, “But he who walks wisely will be delivered.” If we back up just a verse, “…he who trusts in the Lord will prosper.” So neither our mind, nor our heart, are to be trusted. It can be tempting to be the “arrogant man” and think we have it all figured out. We might even say, “I’ve got a good feeling about this!”
At the end of the day, “good feelings” are a lousy substitute for God’s wisdom, and we need to trust Him. Shockingly, our pride can even lead us into the despicable position of v. 24, robbing folks, maybe even our own parents, and thinking we are doing what is good and right. Certainly, v. 23 must be backwards, for “you’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”
Instead, God tells us (via Solomon) that a solid rebuke is better than idle flattery. And flipping the script once more, the one who “gives to the poor will never want” while the one who keeps a tight grip on their money will suffer “many curses”. So no, don’t trust your heart, not even your mind, but “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” Trust God instead, and He’ll never lead you wrong.