Throughout the book of Proverbs, Solomon warns his son of the enemies he will face. A few of those enemies are outside of his son. There is the perverted Band of Brothers who appear in chapter 1 and are alluded to elsewhere. They lie, steal, and pillage. They will play on the son’s God-given need to join with other men in a comradery of mission to take dominion. But their commitment to a distorted dominion makes them an enemy to be avoided. Then there is Harlot Folly who plays on the need of the son for a helper. She seduces with short-term benefits without long-term commitment and will only help him in dwelling in the abode of the dead, not in his mission to build God’s house. Her seduction is to be avoided for she is an adversary.
But there is another enemy with much more influence over our lives than the perverted Band of Brothers or Harlot Folly. This enemy resides within each of us and poses the greatest threat to our well-being. This enemy is our own hearts.
In Proverbs 11.5-6, Solomon contrasts the causes and outcomes of the lives of the righteous and the wicked. “The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness. The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust.” Righteousness is nothing more than living in conformity to wisdom’s way, and wisdom’s way is revealed in God’s law or instruction. Psalm 19.7 says, “the testimony of Yahweh is sure, making wise the simple.” The righteous-wise are protected and delivered from destruction by conforming their lives to God’s revelation. The wicked, however, fall by their own wickedness and are taken captive by their lust. The wicked-fool listens to his heart’s desires uninformed by God’s word. His heart betrays him to his own destruction.
The heart is a person’s central command integrating and governing the mind, the will, and emotions. The heart governs not just what we think but how we think, what we accept as reality, and governs the way we relate to God, others, and the non-human world around us. Rooted in the way we think, the heart determines what is best for us and draws us to that perceived good life through our desires. Driven by desire our hearts then willfully determine to pursue. Ultimately, the heart is the determining factor of all that we do; not the Band of Brothers, Harlot Folly, Lady Wisdom, or Faithful Friends. Whatever is outside of us encourages or repels us, but those outside factors are only drawing out what is already in our hearts.
Solomon, being instructed by his father who was well-grounded in the truth revealed from the beginning, knew that every person is born in iniquity and conceived in sin (Ps 51.5). He reflects this when he says that “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child…” (Pr 22.15). In union with Adam, we are corrupted by sin and, therefore, are guilty before God, receiving the penalty of death (Rom 5.12-21; 1Cor 15.22). Our hearts are radically corrupted; that is, there is no part of our minds, wills, and emotions that is not influenced by sin.
Our greatest enemy is within. We need protection from our own hearts. Wisdom provides the protection we need. Wisdom is found in God’s revelation, how he has revealed himself in word and deed. God’s revelation is not merely a compilation of “brute facts” that are presented to us for us to make a purely rational decision as to what is best. If that were the case, then we would all be doomed to destruction. Our foolish hearts would reject God’s wisdom out of hand. The revelation of God is not the presentation of mere data but the powerful, creative word that brought the world into being out of nothing and continues to uphold the world by its power (Heb 11.3; 1.3). His wisdom converts the soul (Ps 19.7). When we choose the way of wisdom (and we should consciously and enthusiastically do so), we do so because of the power of God.
God’s revelation of wisdom that changes the heart is not presented in Proverbs or elsewhere in Scripture as a spiritual lightning bolt. Rather, his heart-resurrecting power comes through rather ordinary means. Above I quoted the first half of Proverbs 22.15, “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child….” The second half tells us how that foolishness is cured: “… but the rod of correction will drive it far from him.” Parental discipleship that expresses itself through corrective discipline and instruction (cf. Pr 29.15) is God’s means to do heart surgery. Parents are spiritual cardiologists.
Even though much of our foolishness is driven away through parental discipline, remnants of foolishness will remain with us throughout the rest of our lives. Therefore, we consistently need God’s wisdom-revelation guarding our hearts. We must listen to his Word read and taught within the life of his church. We must surround ourselves with friends who do the same, who are ready and willing to speak God’s truth to us when our hearts are deceiving us. When our hearts are fatigued, we need Word, Sacrament, and the encouragement of the saints to guard our hearts (Heb 3.13; 10.24-25).
Your most dangerous enemy is not the government, your computer, your co-worker, that guy or gal who is interested in giving you a good time, or anything else outside of you. All of those can certainly be enemies. But your great enemy is within. So, guard your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life (Pr 4.23).
