“For he who finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the LORD. But he who sins against me injures himself; all those who hate me love death.” (Proverbs 8:32-36, NASB)

Obedience is not where freedom goes to die. It’s the other way around. There is more freedom in our lives when we live in obedience to God’s commandments. It is because even though we may be limited by what we can do and not do within God’s will, we will be free from all other things that can enslave us. The Scriptures have been trying to tell us this truth from the very beginning. It says in today’s passage,

“Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, for blessed are they who keep my ways. Heed instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts. For he who finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the LORD. But he who sins against me injures himself; all those who hate me love death.”

Obedience is not where freedom goes to die. It is where freedom is found, and we can live a peaceful, joyful, and loving life. In the world, we are deceived into thinking that surrendering to God means giving up fun, happiness, and freedom to live the way we want to live. This was the temptation that Adam and Eve fell into. The devil deceived them into thinking that they were missing out on something by obeying God’s command not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 3:6 says, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” However, instead of becoming happy, free, and wise, they became enslaved to sin and death, and caused the whole human race to fall with them. Had they obeyed God, they would have enjoyed everything in the Garden and never have known the meaning of sin, guilt, and death. The only restriction in their lives would have been to never eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Solomon somehow understood this and warned his “sons” to trust God’s goodness and obey His commandments. He exhorted, “Listen to me… keep my ways… heed my instructions… and do not neglect it.” He encouraged them, “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts. For he who finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the LORD.” Instead of sadness, you will find blessings. Instead of death, you will find abundant life. Instead of God’s anger and judgment, you will please Him and find favor in His eyes. These words continue to exhort us today, who are the spiritual sons and daughters of God’s people. Obedience to God’s commandment does not limit our freedom, but allows us to live freely with one another in peace, love, and joy.

Here is a question for you: Do traffic signs and signals in our society limit our freedom or give us more freedom? Everyone with the right mind will answer and say, “They give us more freedom because they allow us to move about and travel to places safely.” Consider the potential state of our streets and highways if each driver chose to disregard established traffic rules and act independently. Do rules and regulations in our society limit our freedom or give us more freedom? Do the laws of physics limit our freedom or give us more freedom? Does music theory limit musicians’ creativity or free them to be even more creative? Do the rules of line, color, value, shape, space, and form limit artists’ creativity or free them? Do rules in sports make them boring or more fun to watch? Do mathematical rules limit us or enable us to build things, advance technology, and send rockets to the moon? The bottom line is this: by limiting some things, we get to enjoy more things in life. By obeying certain rules, we get to live in peace with one another. By following certain principles and guidelines, we can be more creative and innovative and excel. Likewise, obedience to God’s commandments allows us to live a peaceful and happy life with one another and find favor from God as we please Him. Obedience to God’s words is not where our freedom goes to die.

• Why does Solomon mention “life” and “death” when discussing the pursuit of wisdom?
• How do society’s rules show us the benefits of God’s laws?