Destination Wisdom

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Proverbs 13:20

Summer 2010 my cousins and I were hiking Arches National Park in Utah. When the trail made a sudden fork, we stopped. There stood two rugged, wooden signs with (confusing) arrows directing hikers. An hour later found us back at that same fork, exhausted, wounded, and feeling defeated. We'd, unfortunately, chosen the wrong path--leading us up a most treacherous climb over loose rocks before finally dead-ending. We hadn't escaped without cuts, bruises, and a few honest fear-for-our-life moments.

An intelligent hiker decides on his destination, then maps his course. He cannot take a path heading an opposite direction and expect to reach his goal. Neither can we. As Christians traveling through life, we will encounter many forks. Proverbs 13:20 serves as a map: destination harm--turn left; destination wisdom--turn right. Choose the destination, then the path will be clear.

"Whoever walks with the wise"... Influences surround you--friends, books, sitcoms, movies, video games, magazine, websites, music. Take inventory of each on of these influencers in your life and categorized them in one of two columns--wise or foolish (no neutral zone!). Do you walk with the wise or fools? Reaching the desired goal of wisdom (instead of 'harm') requires living intentionally--choosing wisdom over foolishness.

"You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read." Charlie "Tremendous" Jones