In the end it leads to death
Proverbs 14:12 - Fearing the Lord and studying His Word are the signposts we must follow to stay on the way of life.
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
Proverbs 14:12 NIV
The Lord pointed us back to the wisdom on Proverbs today. Chapter 14 describes the difference between wisdom and folly, a distinction is sometime difficult to discern but can make a tremendous amount of difference in our personal and spiritual lives.
The NASB translation of this verse is slightly different: “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” In either case, Proverbs refers to “the way”, or a path of life that a man or woman walks on. Here, Solomon is pointing out that we often think that the path we’re on in our lives is fine and dandy, and it seems ludicrous to us that God or another person would think otherwise.
For many years of my life I felt that I was on the “right path”. I thought I was a “nice person” and that nobody should question my decisions and life choices. In hindsight, I am grateful to God that He protected me from harm and evil during those desert years, as many of my choices were just plain wrong and dangerous.
Bible commentator Allen Ross made this point about “the way that appears to be right”:
“The issue then is how deceptive evil is. It might promise and deliver happiness, power, and the good life, but it cannot sustain what it gives.”1
What is at the end of that blithe path? Death. The life choices one makes might seem right, but they aren’t — they lead to death. In my younger and less wise days, I would have said “well, everybody dies,” but that was before I understood the distinction between death and eternal life.
There are some life choices that people make that are obviously going to end badly, but the road to death isn’t always clearly marked. We need a revelation from God to show us that we need to get off of the dangerous path and travel instead on the way of life.
God really wants us to understand the importance of this piece of wisdom, as it is repeated in Proverbs 16:25 — “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
Fearing the Lord and studying His Word are the signposts we must follow to stay on the way of life.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I pray that You give me discernment and keep me from deluding and deceiving myself. You have guided me back to the right path, and I pray that I may never be foolish enough to travel again down the path that leads to destruction. I thank You for Your promise to guide my steps, and I pray that my ears and mind may continue to be open to your guidance. I ask this in the name of Your Son and my Savior, Jesus. AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.
Ross, Allen P. "Proverbs: The Expositor's Bible Commentary" Volume 5 (Psalms-Song of Songs) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1991)