Volume 2 Issue 3 July 1996
by Brian Price
be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
What wise counsel is found in this short segment of scripture. There is a fallacy among
many that states that the only way to learn is to experience something for yourself. A common reply to instruction is, "you may be right but let me found out on my own." I believe this passage plainly teaches that we do not have to learn every lesson on our own. The passage relates to us the value of wise instruction. Much knowledge can be gained through the instruction of the wise that may save us a lot of heart ache and misery that often accompanies "learning the hard way."
One does not have to walk in the paths of the wicked to understand that it is evil and
destructive. We do not have license to walk in the paths of evil under the cloak of a learning
experience. The instruction is simple, we are to avoid evil and we come to an understanding of what is evil not by experience but through wise instruction. Let us hold fast to the instruction of the wise that we might not destroy our lives through wickedness in some misguided attempt to learn through experience.
