213. Haughty Hearts And Hurrying To Hardships (Proverbs 21:4-5)

The Scoffer And The Lord

4/19/2026

Turn with me to Proverbs 21:4-5. These are our verses to study and memorize.

Proverbs 21:4-5 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin. 5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.

Introduction

In this chapter, we are learning God’s perspective on the scoffer’s behavior. In verses 2 and 3, we had our main introduction to this section. We saw that despite people thinking they are right, God is the one who sovereignly weighs people’s motives and actions. We also saw that God does not want mere outward shows of righteousness. He wants hearts of holiness that produce righteous behaviors. Now, in these verses (4-5), we are beginning to see some of the so-called “right behavior” that people have in their own eyes versus what is truly right behavior in God’s eyes.

Verses 4-8 begin this first subsection by declaring that the pride that guides the scoffing mocker is sin. Verses 5, 6, and 7 show the scoffer’s escalating efforts to get ahead and get rich. Here we will see three ways that they fail, three pitfalls to avoid, and three examples of things that people justify in their own minds as right but are quite wicked in God’s judgment. Verse 8 concludes by reiterating that this proud, guilty way of life is crooked. It is not righteous and just. It is sin. Then it reminds us that the behavior of the pure is upright. That upright behavior will be a repeated theme that will be seen at the end of each of the three subsections of this chapter. It will also be seen in verse 18 and then again in verse 29.

Have you ever let pride guide your decisions? Maybe you were offended at someone, so you based your response on them humbling themselves and “treating you right.” Maybe you thought you deserved something better than what you had. So you based your purchasing decisions or your job decisions on the money or prestige that something would provide. Or maybe when something happened, you lied to protect yourself and your reputation. Maybe you manipulated things to make you look better or to get what you wanted in a situation. After all, you deserved it! Proverbs 21:4 will help us with all these things and more as it gives us a strong warning against letting pride be what guides our actions.

Have you ever really wanted something or seen what other people have and been envious? Have you ever made it your primary goal to get ahead, to get a certain possession, to get a certain amount of money, or to get a certain standard of retirement? Proverbs 21:5 gives us guidance on what will lead to success and what will lead to ruin.

With that overview, let’s take a closer look at Proverbs 21:4-5 as we learn God’s view on haughty hearts and hurrying to hardships.

4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin.

The pride that guides the wicked is sin.

The poetic language of this proverb with “the lamp of the wicked” does not quite fit into the way that most people naturally talk today. To complicate the matter, a couple of translations, like the King James Version and the NET Bible, speak of the “plowing” of the wicked instead of the “lamp” of the wicked. Given all that, a bit of investigation into the translation issue and the meaning is helpful.

The word for “lamp” here (Nir, נִר) is unique in the Hebrew Bible because the Masoretes, about a thousand years ago, gave it a single dot vowel marking (hireq) under the first of its two letters. This is the only place in the Bible where these Hebrew letters were designated this way. This marking could possibly identify it with either a longer spelling of the general word for lamp or with a completely different word that refers to fallow or unplowed ground. Both of those words would add the additional letter Yod in the middle of the word (Ner, נִיר). That additional letter, though, is not present in Hebrew manuscripts. So, with that vowel pointing they gave to it, it would have sounded just like either of those words when it was read out loud. Yet it also would not quite have matched them in its written form. So what does it refer to?

In Scripture and other available sources, the word for fallow ground is never used in a shortened form without its middle letter—because that letter is an essential part of its main root. On the other hand, the shortened form of lamp (Ner, נֵר) is actually much more commonly found throughout Scripture. This is because that middle Yod letter is not related to its root and is only sometimes present. To complicate things, though, this shortened form normally had a different vowel pointing given to it by the Masoretes, two dots (tzere). Thus it appears that they were trying to identify it with the plowing meaning from oral tradition rather than with the lamp meaning of its base letters.

Thankfully, we have two other sources of evidence that really help us with this unique spelling. The first one is that all of the very early translations of this verse translate this as “lamp”—not “fallow ground.” That would include the Greek Septuagint, Latin Vulgate, Syriac, Aramaic Targums, Coptic, Old Ethiopic, Armenian, and Georgian versions. Some of those translations occurred a thousand years or more before the Masoretic vowel pointings were added! All of them were hundreds of years earlier. This makes the interpretive oral tradition of the Masoretic text highly unlikely to be the original meaning.

The second source of evidence is one that we should always double-check whenever there are translation or interpretation difficulties: the context itself. Just a few verses before, in Proverbs 20:27 and Proverbs 20:20, we have the same two original consonants used. Both cases definitely refer to a lamp.¹

To add to that, “lamp” fits the contextual meaning of this verse more naturally. First, there is that nearby connection to Proverbs 20:27, which uses the word “lamp” in a very similar way to our proverb. Beyond that, this verse (Proverbs 21:4) and the last verse of this section (Proverbs 21:8) match each other much better in a framing/inclusio/chiastic sort of way if it is translated “lamp.” With that rendering, these beginning and ending verses both more clearly have to do with showing that the scoffer’s wicked, guilty way (lamp) of life is sinful and crooked. Given all that, it seems quite unlikely that the original intended meaning here is of “fallow ground” that could be farmed. ²

With all of that background, we now come to what matters the most: the point of the proverb. The point is that pride is the guiding force in the life of the wicked, and it is sin. In Proverbs 20:27, we saw that God’s conscience in man is the lamp of the Lord leading toward what is right. It searches one’s being. Now here, we see that the lamp of the wicked, leading them toward sin, is their pride. A lamp reveals the path that is ahead of us. It shows us what is around us. By its enablement, we see everything. If we see everything by God’s conscience instilled in us, then it is going to direct us to God and His wisdom. Whereas if our own pride, haughtiness, arrogance, and self-esteem are what our lamp is made out of, instead of our God-given conscience, then everything that we see will be filtered through that viewpoint. We will be self-focused instead of God-focused.

Thus, the scoffer is blinded by his self-focused perspective on everything. But even though his way is right in his own eyes, we know from Proverbs 21:2 that God will weigh his heart. Here we see that God has weighed it. His verdict is in. The scoffer’s heart has been found to be sinful because haughty pride is its guiding force.

This piercing truth should undermine everything within us that would exalt our own self. This should cut the legs right out from under us. This should humble us. This should make us see how easily we will be deceived. Pride was at the center of Satan’s sin. Pride was at the heart of Adam and Eve’s sin. Pride is at the heart of our sin. Our natural self-justifying, self-excusing, self-exalting perspectives are sin according to God. We must not candy-coat our situation. Pride is the foundational perspective that throws us off, deceives us, and will destroy us. It will so easily make our thoughts, actions, and desires seem oh, so right while being oh, so wrong. This all means that we can become scoffing mockers without even realizing it. We may be exalting ourselves as our own god in certain areas of our lives while thinking we are right and holy! This realization should keep us humble and running to God for wisdom, forgiveness, redemption, and guidance. Without His discerning Word piercing through our lives and deceptions, we have no chance. Without God’s redemption in Jesus, there is no salvation from our sin and its consequences. Without His love and purpose, we will be deceived into our lust and pride.

Right out of the gate here in this new section of proverbs, the whole foundation of the scoffing mocker’s life is head-on attacked. Humanity’s sinful nature and natural ways of living are exposed and found to be wicked, guilty, crooked, and under God’s condemnation.

Scriptural Example: In Scripture we could see endless examples of this if we explored the proud roots of basically all sins. Yet, in light of the emphasis in Proverbs 21:2 that “every man’s way is right in his own eyes,” Korah’s rebellion, with Dathan, Abiram, and 250 other leaders, stands out. Numbers 16 records that they rose up against Moses. They claimed their own holiness and equality with Moses. They claimed he was exalting himself above the rest of the assembly of the Lord (Numbers 16:3). They convinced themselves that they were righteous and holy. They accused Moses of not fulfilling his word to bring them to an inheritance with a land flowing with milk and honey, but rather of having brought them out of a land flowing with milk and honey to die in the wilderness (Numbers 16:14-15).

Their pride blinded them. They wanted to usurp Moses’ authority and place. They convinced themselves of a narrative that fit with what they wanted to believe. They deceived themselves, and they did all of this right before God Almighty with His physical presence at the tabernacle. As Levites, they got their bronze censers. Then they offered incense before the Lord, alongside Moses and Aaron, to allow God to test who was really holy, pure, and right. Oh, to what amazingly great extremes the self-deception of pride can lead us!

God weighed their hearts. The truth was revealed. They were the sinners in this situation, not Moses and Aaron. Their challenge to Moses’ leadership was wrong. God was the one who had put him there. Moses was not leading them the wrong way. They were wrong to blame him. In God’s judgment, their sin received its full consequence. The tents, people, and belongings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were swallowed up by the earth. The 250 leaders were consumed by fire, which came forth from God.

Pride can so easily deceive us and lead us far astray. It is not our judgment that matters. It is not our judgment, or our self-justification, or our reasons that will prove true. It is God’s judgment that will be one hundred percent accurate. It is God’s weighing of our hearts that is perfect. It is God’s say that matters.

Therefore, we ought to continually check our perspective, our thoughts, our actions, and our desires by God’s Word. It is the only infallible measuring rod that we can take as our sure standard. It is the only one-hundred percent accurate source of wisdom and guidance. It is what we need to protect us from the deceptions of pride and from falling into wrong ways that we think are right.

Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture, we see what happens when we allow pride to gain a foothold in our lives. Psalm 10:4 expresses this.

Psalm 10:2-4 In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised. 3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, And the greedy man curses and spurns the LORD. 4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

Pride leads to oppression and abuse of others. Pride leads to sinful, selfish pursuits. Pride leads to boasting, rejecting God, and greed. Pride leads to not seeking the Lord. Pride leads us to defy God and to deny His involvement in our lives. It puts us at the center of everything. It totally blinds us to truth and reality. It makes us think that God will not judge us. It makes us deny our accountability to Him. It endlessly tries to convince us that there is no God so that we can do whatever we want and pretend to be the god of our own lives.

God tells us what He thinks of this in Proverbs 6:16-17 as part of His list of what He hates.

Proverbs 6:16-17 There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,

God hates the haughty eyes, the proud spirit, that underlies all the sinfully defiant behaviors of people.

Proverbs 8:13 gave us what should be the attitude of God’s people towards pride.

Proverbs 8:13 “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.

We must start by hating it within ourselves. We must see its true, terrible, wicked, destructive nature. We must see pride as evil and as the mindset that provides the foundation for other evil. It is not something to be pandered to, excused, or celebrated. It is sin. It is what has earned us God’s just judgment and condemnation. It is what makes us deserving of death and hell. It is the source of our problem. It is the root of what produces our wickedness. It is what we need to confess to God. It is what we need to repent of. It is what should drive us to the cross. It is what should make us see our need for Jesus and His forgiveness. The insidious, unavoidable nature of pride within us pushing our thoughts, desires, words, and actions in wrong directions should make us realize the full hopelessness of our condition before God. He sees every last shred of it interwoven throughout all our actions, words, and thoughts. He sees how it propels even what might otherwise seem to be good and righteous behaviors within us. We cannot fix it on our own. We cannot remove it. With it, we are depraved, wretched sinners in need of a Savior.

Truth in Connection: As we connect this to our lives, the judgment of God upon our hearts becomes clear as He weighs them. We have hardly begun this chapter, and there is nothing left but our condemnation. Our self-righteousness was exposed in Proverbs 21:3, and now our pride is seen in this verse. All that can rightly be said is what Isaiah said in Isaiah 6:5 when he beheld the holiness of God. “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” We are left with nothing but to be like the tax collector in Jesus’ parable in Luke 18:13: “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!”

Have you come to Jesus seeing your sinful pride as it truly is in God’s sight? Have you turned to Jesus as the one and only Savior from that sin? Have you trusted Him as your Savior? Trust Him today. Pride will attempt to blind you. Give it up. God’s judgment of our hearts will be what stands before His eternal court of justice. There will be nowhere to hide. Surrender to Him now before it is too late. Receive His love, forgiveness, and life. Be made a new creation in Jesus. Trust Him to do all that.

Having trusted Him, hold no more illusions about your sinful flesh and your natural bent. Pride will seek to come back and master us time and time again. But we must not reckon ourselves as slaves to sin anymore. As Romans 6:6-11 says, our old self was crucified with Jesus so that our body of sin might be done away with. We have been freed from sin. We are to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. We must remember the wiles of sin and pride. We must daily immerse ourselves in the truths of God’s wisdom in His Word. May we be protected from the lies of our pride by the truth of Jesus’ Word piercing through us, as Hebrews 4:12-16 talks about. Let us continually and humbly draw near to God’s throne of grace to find mercy and grace to help in time of need.

Our next verse gives us a key to this process while warning us of the dangerous natural progressions of a self-focused life.

5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.

Careful plans produce benefit, but impulsive and thoughtless choices produce hardship and lack.

Here we are beginning a three-verse progression on the ways people attempt to grow their wealth. The right way to prosper is declared first. That is then contrasted with a way that may seem right in the eyes of people but actually is not. The next two verses will then escalate that with two far more egregious ways that people pursue acquiring riches: lying and violence. These different methods may all seem like they accomplish the goal, but the results are not permanent or worth it. They actually result in people being worse off in the end.

A number of proverbs that we have looked at in the past have dealt with the dangers of laziness and negligence in contrast with the blessings of diligence.

Proverbs 10:4 Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Proverbs 12:24 The hand of the diligent will rule, But the slack hand will be put to forced labor.

Proverbs 13:4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made fat.

Our proverb expands this out in a bit of a different direction. It is not just the lazy who end up poor, enslaved, and destitute. It is also those who energetically move forward in their choices but without careful consideration of the consequences or situations. It is not simply being a hard worker that leads to profit. Careful planning and wise steps are also needed.

Someone can be lazy and end up destitute. We easily understand that. But someone can also be a very hard worker and still end up destitute. How? By not planning well how to use the proceeds of that hard work, it will all slip through their fingers. Careful planning and wise stewardship are essential.

The word for advantage here has to do with abundance, profit, plenteousness, or benefit. Planning, with diligence, is what produces this abundance. We plan how to save money, not just how to earn it. We budget. We carefully plan to pay our bills and make sure we are saving for what will be needed in the future. We make sure that we do not spend more than we make. We plan for the crisis that might and probably will occur. We do not buy on credit and end up paying twice as much for an item as it originally cost. We wait until we have the money for something before purchasing it. We do not routinely buy things that we do not need. We try to avoid buying cheap items or disposable ones that will end up costing more in the long run as we keep having to buy them. We try to avoid subscriptions and recurring costs in favor of set, reasonable, one-time purchases.

We plan to carefully make our own meals at home to keep costs down to a realistic amount for our budget. We plan what kinds of things we eat and how we exercise so that we stay healthy, can do more, can keep working, and do not lose our income. Essentially, we plan to take care of our bodies so that they will serve us well in doing what we need to do to serve God, our families, and others. The same kind of thing is true with our vehicles, house, appliances, and other belongings. We intentionally plan to take care of them with the maintenance that they need so that they do not get run down prematurely and incur greater expenses. We fix things instead of just automatically throwing them away and buying new ones.

The list here could almost be limitless, but you get the point. The hard worker who makes careful plans will prosper. They will reap the results of their hard work and wise decisions. This is true both for our physical lives and for our spiritual lives. Just like careful planning is needed physically to prosper, so too, intentionally planning for our spiritual growth and relationship with God is needed for us to improve and prosper there.

On the other hand, our proverb also warns us of a dangerous misconception that many people have. Hurrying to get things done, making hasty decisions, and always being busy will not result in prospering. Activity, haste, hurrying, being scatterbrained, letting our emotions rule our decisions, or “hustling” are not what will lead to prospering. It will actually result in the opposite. It will result in poverty. We might make more, but a lot more also just slips through our hands. When we are hasty, we make mistakes. When we make hurried decisions, we do not take everything into account that we should. When we are too busy to think carefully, we make poor choices that have deep consequences. We prioritize the wrong things. We miss important factors. Eventually, that will all catch up to us. We will miss a crucial issue or make an extremely bad decision and reap the results.

Even when we are smart enough to avoid such catastrophic, obvious bad decisions, what often can catch up to people is the series of small, bad decisions. They all add up. We are left wondering where all the money went. What we have is simply consumed. There is nothing left each month. We end up on the brink where one crisis might throw us over the edge and ruin us. A series of small, poor, unthought-out, hasty decisions can lead to this kind of outcome just as much as a few big ones.

To come to have benefit, profit, advantage, or prosperousness, we must be wise in how we budget, plan, save, and invest, not just in how diligently we work. This is a main point of helpful ministries such as Crown Financial Ministries, Seedtime.com, or Dominion Wealth Strategists. We have to budget. We have to be wise stewards of our money, time, abilities, and belongings. We have to live within our means. We have to be able to tell ourselves “no” when something is not best or wisest. We have to plan what we will spend money on and what we will not. We have to look forward and carefully understand the implications of our small daily decisions as well as of our more infrequent big decisions.

Some people easily see the long-range implications of a choice versus the immediate benefits and enjoyment. Other people see what they want and focus on finding a way to get it right away without deeply considering the long-range effects. Usually, that focus on getting what we want, however we can get it, produces choices that lead to poverty when the bills come due. The consequences can be brutal when we end up having to deal with the reality that we have overextended ourselves in our commitments.

Many people do this and then rely on credit cards to rescue them. They end up cutting out things that they wanted to prioritize, like family activities, giving to their church, or helping others. These issues also very easily snowball as other essential payments are missed. Late fines increase. Vehicles or a house may be lost. The added stress can often cause people to drop the ball in other areas of life and maybe even lose their jobs. Marriages, family, and health can all be greatly impacted.

Do not make your financial decisions based on what other people will lend you. Credit card purchases, vehicle loans, and mortgages may all be made without them being sure you can actually pay your bills in real-world situations. They are not so much concerned with you being able to do that as they are with being able to make money off of you one way or another. They are often quite fine repossessing your house or vehicle or charging you exorbitant interest rates that will make them a lot more money over time. They do not really care whether it ruins your life and leaves you destitute. Do not take their being willing to lend you money as a sign you can or should do something. Carefully do your own thorough research and planning. Make sure it is wise.

It is very important not to be lazy. It is also very important to act with discernment in how we use what we have. These are two essential behaviors that need to go together in order for us to prosper. People can be sluggards and not act when they should. That will be a big problem. People can be without judgment and act in ways they should not with what they have. That will also be a big problem. The wise and right way to act is by both working hard and planning carefully with what we have. We must be able to tell ourselves no when something is not best. We must be able to wait and save. We must not let ourselves become routine impulse buyers whose money burns a hole in our pockets. We must consider carefully what we buy, what we do not buy, and what habits we let ourselves get into. In short, we need to have wise plans and stick to them.

Scriptural Example: In Scripture, we frequently see examples of poor planning and decision-making. In the very beginning, Adam and Eve were told what not to do, but they did not stick to that. They did not plan well enough beforehand to avoid eating the forbidden fruit. They allowed themselves to be enamored with how good it looked. They let themselves continue to listen to the wrong advice and temptations they were presented with. They may have been hard workers overseeing God’s creation, but they did not plan well for how to carefully obey what they were commanded not to do. That ruined them and all of humanity.

Cain was the same way. Sacrifices to God were supposed to be of animals. He did not plan for that. He brought the produce of the ground from his farming to God. That’s great sacrificial giving, but it was not what was needed to atone for sin. God did not accept that sacrifice. Cain then reacted very poorly. He took out his anger and frustration on his brother by killing him. What ruin that brought!

Esau came back from one of his hunting trips famished. He had not planned for the eventuality that he might not get the animals he wanted in a reasonable amount of time. He had not planned to have enough food ready for such situations. He left himself open to temptation and being taken advantage of. He also had no self-control. He did not learn to tell himself no when something was not wise or best. He had to have what he wanted right away. His foolish choices led to his losing his birthright.

On the positive side, Daniel did plan his steps carefully and prospered each step of the way. As a young captive in Babylon, he decided that he was going to keep following God. He decided beforehand that he would not defile himself with unclean foods. But he was not belligerent about it. That probably would have just gotten him killed. Instead, he carefully planned. He came up with and respectfully asked for an alternative option. He trusted the Lord and acted wisely. God worked it out.

The same was true when he was confronted with the unknown dreams to interpret and the situation with prayer and the lion’s den. He planned beforehand that he was always going to do what was right. Then he worked to carry that out in the best possible way in the challenging situations he faced. God blessed that, and it led to his continued prospering.

Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture, we see that it has a lot to say about planning and being diligent.

Colossians 4:5-6 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

Ephesians 5:10, 15-17 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

That takes planning and diligence. That takes seeking out God’s wisdom and putting it into practice.

Titus 3:8 This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men.

1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12 But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, 12 so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.

To not be in need and to be careful to engage in good deeds takes effort and foresight. We need to excel still more at this. There is never a time when it is okay to quit our wise planning and diligence.

Ephesians 6:11-13 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

Romans 6:12-13 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Victory in our daily Christian life over sin and temptation takes planning, diligence, and intentionality. It will not happen by accident.

Romans 12:10-13 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

Romans 13:5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. 8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

We cannot meet the needs of others, show hospitality, persevere in tribulation, and be devoted to prayer without diligence and planning. We cannot pay our taxes, render to everyone what is due them, and owe no man anything except to love them, unless we plan and are diligent. All of those things in the Christian life, whether they be physical behaviors or the spiritual battles in our hearts and minds, require both planning and diligence for us to prosper. There are no shortcuts. Hasty decisions, emotional decisions, careless decisions, rash behaviors, and off-the-cuff responses will only lead to problems and poverty.

Truth in Connection: How do we plan for all these things? How do we go about making a change in our habits? How do we connect this to our lives? Hebrews 12:1-2 show us where to start.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

As Christians, we need to start by deciding to lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us. We have to give everything to God and start over with His help. We have to decide to run the race and obey His commandments to us on these issues. Having surrendered everything to Him, this text tells us to look to Jesus for all of our wisdom and guidance.

We need to continue to look to Him daily for wisdom in every area of our lives. We need to stop being conformed to this world and its way of doing things, as Romans 12:1-2 says. Instead, we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We need to let God change our wrong thinking into wisdom that leads to righteousness. We need to let Him transform our priorities. We need to let Him teach us to say no to things that are wrong or not best. We need to let Him teach us to pursue what is most important. We need to let Him teach us patience. We need to let Him teach us to value the needs of others more and our own desires less.

There is no getting around it. We need to surrender every area of our lives to Him and be teachable. We need to let Him peel away all the behaviors of having been a scoffing mocker and transform them into righteousness and holiness. It is humbling to admit where we are wrong, where we have failed, and where we need help. But it is so freeing to stop living for sin and the world’s way of doing things and to let Him transform our lives into what He intends them to be. Will you? Will I? Daily?

If you have not trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior from sin, then that is where you must start. We need new life in Jesus. We need forgiveness of sins. We need to be reconciled to God and rescued from the judgment we are under for our sin. Stop trusting in your own way and so-called wisdom. It only leads to ruin in the end. Trust in Jesus. Then keep looking to Him with His wisdom.

May we listen to God’s evaluation of our lives and embrace it. May we rejoice in His ongoing work of transformation until He calls us home. We all have areas in which to grow, and we will always need to continue to persevere. New decisions must be faced each day. New (or old) temptations must be overcome each day. The blessed thing is that each day we have an opportunity to glorify God in these ways by planning and being diligent to use what we have for Him. Today, will we be diligent and intentionally plan to be a faithful steward of what God has given us?

Conclusion

If you have any questions on any of this or want help in coming to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior please come talk with us. We are available. If you would like help in making new plans for an area of your life, or in overall budgeting, please, come see us if it would at all be of any help. Let’s pray.

© 2026, Kevin A. Dodge, All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB),Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture and/or notes quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.