Proverbs 27:12. The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.
Have you ever been in danger? Real danger? What got you into that dangerous situation? A little child will wander off into the dangerous street without thinking. Why? Because they are simple. They don’t think first. They don’t know better. They go wherever they want to go, until someone stops them. They aren’t necessarily being rebellious, they’re being ignorant. They are simply unable to foresee the danger that is coming. And they have no idea how to protect themselves from that danger.
As you grow a bit older, you become more and more prudent. You judge your own decisions. You can see potential outcomes unfold in your mind. You have been taught by others how to keep yourself safe. Look both ways before crossing the street. Where I grew up in New Jersey we would play in the street. Football, soccer, wiffle ball. When a car would drive down the street someone would yell CAR! We would all get out of the way. We could see the danger and hide ourselves.
Obviously this proverb is about much more than crossing or playing in the street. This proverb is also making a point about our spiritual lives in Christ. The simple Christian can’t tell when something is dangerous to their soul. They can’t foresee how a choice will lead them down a path into greater and greater sin. But the prudent, or wise, Christian can see the path they are on is dangerous and that they should hide from that spiritual danger.
Jesus, Paul, and Peter all warn us that we have a spiritual enemy. The Devil is like a prowling lion, seeking whom he may devour. He is a liar and the Father of Lies. He wants nothing more than to deceive you into a life of faithlessness. Doubting God. Living for yourself. He is the Accuser of the Brethren, each day bringing false charges against God’s elect. Guilt and shame are his fiery arrows piercing your soul.
The simple Christian has no idea how to apply their union with Christ to their own heart and mind. The armor of God has never been taken out of the closet. Or worse yet, the armor of self-righteous law keeping is being worn against an enemy that knows how to weaponize the very thing we think is keeping us safe. I’ll defeat Satan with my good works. And those same good works will harden your heart with pride when you are good, and despair when you are bad.
Why not be wise instead? Why not trust in the finished work of Jesus alone, and your union with it? Why not hide yourself in the love of Christ? The truth is he has already hidden you there.
Colossians 3:3. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
The truth is Christian, that the Devil can’t find the real you, the deepest you, the part of you that is united to Christ. Why not? Because it is hidden. Untouchable. Unstainable. Unaccusable. It is eternally secure in Christ. Hidden IN God, just like Jesus. What power does Satan have over Jesus? None. What charge can he bring against him? None. What past mistake can he bring up to employ Christ’s shame? None. What fear or failure can he exploit against the mind of Christ? None, for Christ is in God. Safe and secure. And so are we!
Let us be no longer simple, but prudent. Let us see the very real danger of the Devil’s lies, and yet the very real protection we have hidden from that danger in Christ’s love for us.
You: What lies of the Devil have you been believing lately?
You in Christ: How does our union with Christ protect us from the Devil’s schemes?
Christ in you: How can you apply the love of Christ to a specific lie that you have been believing?
Pray: Father, hidden in you I will not fear and cannot fail. Help me stay aware of my place in the love of Jesus today.
To Live is Christ 