MENTAL HEALTH IN THE PROVERBS: STRAIGHT PATHS
Proverbs 3:1-8
#mentalhealth
INTRODUCTION
What makes a wise saying wise? I think it has a lot to do with the source of the person making the comment or who wrote the particular book you are reading from. I think it also has to do with the topic the saying is addressing, our situation, and if the wisdom can actually help us in our daily lives. Not that wisdom is subjective, but certain factors make wisdom easier to take some times than other times.
Let’s start by playing an interactive game this morning and I am going to ask you to raise your hands. Some of you may need to stretch a little bit so you don’t hurt yourself. I will mention a “wise saying” and you first vote with a raise of a hand if you feel the saying is wise. Secondly, you will raise your hand if you feel the phrase is from the Bible. Wise or not? Bible or not? Got it? If not, too bad, we’ve got to move forward as this is only a half hour show.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” [Wise or Not?] [Proverbs 4:23]
"Hate the sin, love the sinner." [Wise or Not?] [Mahatma Ghandi]
“This too shall pass.” [Wise or Not?] [English Poem “Lament of the Doer”]
“A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day” [Wise or Not?] [Proverbs 27:15]
“When one door closes another opens.” [Wise or Not?] [Chinese Proverb]
“Not only can water float a boat, it can sink it also.” [Wise or Not?] [Chinese Proverb]
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” [Wise or Not?] [Proverbs 27:17]
“He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue.” [Wise or Not?] [Proverbs 28:23]
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” [Wise or Not?] [Proverbs 3:5]
Well, how did you do in our interactive game? Did you pull a muscle voting? Do you know your Bible as well as you think you do? There are many wise sayings out there that are not in the Bible. Speaking of that…
CAUTION WITH WORLDLY WISDOM / SYSTEMS OF SPIRITUALITY
Before we get too far into talking about wisdom from the Bible in how it relates to mental health, which is our topic today, I want to acknowledge that there is knowledge and wisdom outside of the Bible, but it is not knowledge or wisdom we should wrap our lives around. I give you a word of caution when it comes to wisdom not found in the Bible for several key reasons.
First, is the source of the authority. Believers in Christ believe that the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God and so the Bible is not just any ‘ol book, but carries with it the authority of the God of the Universe. Nothing else has that authority. Nothing… Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. There may be other paths or other religions or other options presented to us in this world, but only the Bible comes to us God-breathed. The Bible is the expressed Truth of God and carries with it His authority. We should be very careful under whose authority we place ourselves and to what or who we give loyalty.
For example, in the phrase we heard earlier “When one door closes another opens” we have a good thought. However, this phrase comes from a secular worldview. Sometimes “when one door closes another opens” is true and sometimes not. Sometimes God closes the door and the window because the answer is “no.”
Second, is differences in worldview. A believer in Christ has a particular worldview about how life should be lived based on the teachings of Jesus. Jesus is the foundation. He is a sure foundation of rock and not a foundation of sand (Matthew 7:24-27). Wise sayings often reflect the values of the culture or philosophy they come from. Christian wisdom is shaped by God’s character, grace, willingness to forgive, love, self-sacrifice, and eternity. Other kinds of wisdom can sound good, but can often prioritize self, self-discovery, emotional success, or comfort.
For example, the phrase “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” comes from Proverbs 4:23. This wisdom, which in my opinion is in the form of a command, is directly opposite of the worldview that we should “follow our heart” or “give the heart what it wants" or “give 100% of your heart to people.” All of those sentiments are destructive to the human soul if you follow them. The Bible teaches us that it is wise to guard our heart and other passages tell is to be wary of our own hearts (Jeremiah 17:9, Mark 7:21-22).
Third, there is a difference between full-truth and half-truth. Because of a Christian’s view of the Bible and a Christian’s worldview, other systems of proverbs or spirituality contain slivers of truth, but not the whole truth. A sliver of truth can be misleading or dangerous when lived out fully and completely like it was full-truth. I hope that makes sense.
For example, "Hate the sin, love the sinner" is a phrase that has infiltrated the church, but is not from the Bible. It contains only a sliver of truth. Yes, we should love people. Yes, we should hate sin. Love and hate are often subjective words and one can tend to bleed into the other and can at times be oversimplified. In the Bible, amid hating sin and loving sinners we also have grace, justice, holiness, a definition of love that is different than what most people mean, and a definition of sin that is probably uncomfortable.
What am I saying? Christians are not forbidden from appreciating wise sayings outside the Bible or being widely read when it comes to spirituality or human living, but we are taught to measure everything against the Absolute standard of the Scriptures.
What am I saying?
* True wisdom must submit to Divine Authority for the ultimate standard for wisdom is the God-breathed authority of Scripture.
* Christ-Centered wisdom is different because God-given wisdom is formed by a biblical worldview rooted in Jesus Christ, not the values of our culture or another religion.
* Half-truths can be dangerous because wisdom without the full truth of Scripture can mislead and even harm.
MENTAL HEALTH FRAME OF MIND
The past few years we have taken time to focus on the topic of mental health. I think this topic is important because when God created human beings, He created us as integrated beings with physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Sin entered into Creation and disrupts the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health in all of us. Because we are integrated beings, it is not a bad thing to focus on mental and emotional health. When I read the Bible, I often hear verses, phrases, and principles that should be applied to our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
TRANSITION
So what passage of wisdom from the Bible are we reading from today? I am glad you asked! We are in Proverbs. Proverbs is in a section of the Old Testament with poetry (Job, Psalms, Song of Solomon). Most of the time we think Solomon wrote all of the Proverbs, but that is not true. We know he wrote some as did some unnamed wise men (22:17), Agur (30:1), and Lemuel (31:1). Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings divinely inspired by Almighty God. Let’s read from Proverbs 3:1-8.
READ PROVERBS 3:1-8 (ESV)
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, 2 for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. 3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Chapter 3 is a section in the introduction of Proverbs which is 9 chapters long. The introduction of Proverbs focuses on the need for wisdom, the efforts needed to keep folly away from us, and more than one command to “listen up!” The first 9 chapters sets up the need for wisdom and what life will be like if wisdom is not listened to and followed. The Book of Proverbs often uses comparison and opposites to make Truth known. For example: hard work vs. laziness, rich vs. poor, pride vs. humility. Many truths are described by comparing and contrasting.
Proverbs 3:1-8 begins with one of those “listen up!” phrases: “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments.” Immediately, I believe we have in mind a son that says: “What if I don’t? What will happen if I don’t?”
What happens when the wisdom of the father (Father) is not followed? What happens when we lean on our own understanding? What happens when we are wise in our own eyes? The command from the father (Father) is that the son (we) listen, live, and avoid what is described when the wisdom given is not followed:
Verse 2: Peace is subtracted from our days and years.
Verse 3: We have a lack of love.
Verse 3: We have a lack of faithfulness.
Verse 3: Our heart is a blank slate.
Verse 4: No favor or success with God.
Verse 4: No favor or success with other people.
Verse 6: Crooked paths.
Verse 7: We turn toward evil.
Verse 8: Sickness and weariness in our flesh and bones.
Our topic today is mental health, so let me put what ignoring these verses means in more modern terms:
Verse 2: Chronic stress and emotional unrest leads to burnout.
Verse 3: We struggle with emotional disconnection and loneliness.
Verse 3: There’s instability in our commitments and we have trust issues which leads to anxiety.
Verse 3: We feel emotionally numb and detached from our values.
Verse 4: We feel spiritually disconnected and abandoned.
Verse 4: We experience social rejection or conflict which can lead to depression.
Verse 6: We make poor life choices leading to feelings of regret, confusion, or being lost.
Verse 7: We knowingly engage in harmful behaviors that damage our mental health.
Verse 8: Our mental and emotional struggles manifest as physical fatigue, chronic pain, or illness.
TRANSITION
Let’s dig into Proverbs 3 a little deeper. Verses 1-2 share some general thoughts while verses 3-6 get a little more specific about relationships and decision making, and then verses 7-8 is a summary thought.
VERSES 1-2: MENTAL HEALTH IN GENERAL
RE-READ PROVERBS 3:1-2 (ESV)
“My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, 2 for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.”
When I read these verses in Proverbs 3, I know it is perhaps King Solomon speaking to his son Rehoboam, but I also can’t help but see our Heavenly Father speaking to us. God says to us, “do not forget My teaching.” God says to us, “let your heart keep My commandments.”
I would like to impress on you that having a consistent moral foundation based on the Truth of God creates peace and stability in our lives. Practicing what is right in God’s sight increases peace between us and God, between us and others, and in ourselves.
By the way, Jesus Christ teaches the same Truth in the Sermon on the Mount:
READ MATTHEW 7:24-27 (ESV)
“Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
God the Father is saying to us His children that if we want physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healthy lives; we should place our foundation on Him. Proverbs 1-9 communicates that as does Jesus in Matthew 7. This then begs the questions:
* What is your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health built upon?
* Specifically, what system of living impacts your mental and emotional health?
TRANSITION
Verses 1-2 shared some general thoughts. Now, verses 3-6 get a little more specific about relationships and decision making. Then verses 7-8 give a summary thought.
VERSES 3-6: MENTAL HEALTH SPECIFICS
SPECIFICS ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS
RE-READ PROVERBS 3:3-4 (ESV)
“Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.”
The word “steadfast” is used in connection with “love.” In the original language, this is one word. In the Old Testament, this word is translated as "lovingkindness," "steadfast love," or "faithful love.” It describes a deep, enduring love and loyalty, especially within relationships. It is used to describe God’s attitude towards us. We are encouraged to have the same type of relationship with one another. This is not just a feeling, but is a commitment to action all the while showing mercy and compassion.
The word “faithfulness” is used. This word means “firmness,” “trustworthiness,” and “duration of faithfulness.” This word is commonly used in the Old Testament to denote truth, but it carries a richer meaning than just facts. It encompasses the ideas of faithfulness, reliability, and steadfastness which is why it is paired with the last word. Also, interestingly, the word only had three letters using the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet signifing that truth is all-encompassing and enduring,
What does this mean for us?
Stability in our relationships is a key for our mental well-being. Be someone whose definition of love comes from God and that definition is written on your heart. Commit yourself to your relationships… especially those who are married. Stability in your marriage is healthy for you, your spouse, and everyone around you. If you don’t have a stable marriage relationship, get help.
Consistency in our emotions is a key to our mental well-being. Life can be emotional at times. We use the metaphor about life that it can be a “roller coaster.” That means there are very high highs, twists and turns, and very low lows. If life is always a roller coaster, this is not healthy emotionally or mentally. Probably not physically either.
Pray for peace and rest and learn what Sabbath means in the Bible.
Seek times to get away and have a different pace of life
Decide to be faithfully loyal and consistent in our relationship with God the Father.
Decide to be faithfully loyal and consistent in our relationship with significant others in our life.
SPECIFICS ABOUT DECISION MAKING
RE-READ PROVERBS 3:5-6 (ESV)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”
Solomon continues in this passage and mentions “ways” and “paths.” This makes me think about decision-making. I did some thinking and digging on how we make decisions can impact our mental health. Decision-making can negatively impact our mental health in several significant ways, especially when it becomes overwhelming, frequent, or high-stakes decisions. These verses mention that we can either lean on God or lean on our own understanding. When we lean on our own understanding for all of our ways and paths, it creates issues.
Decision-making can negatively impact our mental health in several significant ways, especially when it becomes overwhelming, frequent, or high-impact decisions. Making a lot of decisions can lead to mental exhaustion and even impulsive or poor choices. Over time, this can contribute to anxiety, burnout, and a sense of hopelessness. When we have a lot of uncertain outcomes before us, we can have what is called “analysis paralysis" which causes more stress and anxiety. After we make decisions, we can dip into self-criticism. Sometimes we make decisions based on what we think others will think of us or a fear of rejection. Then there are the times when we have the desire to make the perfect decision which can lead to chronic stress, dissatisfaction, and decision avoidance. Not only that, for followers of Christ, the fear of deciding “outside of God’s will” can lead to spiritual anxiety, paralysis, and a sense of disconnect from God.
Whew, it is exhausting just thinking through all of that!
Proverbs communicates to us in a command fashion that as people of faith, we must trust in God when it comes to decisions, paths, and direction for our lives. Especially in uncertain or stressful times we need to lean into the wisdom and help God gives because this reduces the mental burden of control and fear. When you and I surrender outcomes to our Heavenly Father, we also surrender a good portion of anxiety, burnout, hopelessness, criticism, and fear.
Jesus teaches about his in Matthew 11 as well. He is praying and reflecting on the fact that God reveals Himself to those with faith. He then says:
READ MATTHEW 11:28-30 (ESV)
“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
God offers us a choice when it comes to our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. We can come to Him or not. Proverbs 3 and Jesus in Matthew 11 says we can choose to strive all on our own or we can rely on God in the paths of life. Leaning not on our own understanding in Proverbs 3 is about submission. A yoke in Jesus’ words symbolizes submission.
In the paths we take in this life, choose God’s way of living, which includes aligning our decisions with His teachings and character. This is a shift in how we make choices from self-reliant thinking to Christ-centered prayer. Pray about decisions. Ask for divine guidance. Read the Bible for guidance that has already been given. Then… follow it. Obey. That. Is. Healthy.
VERSES 7-8: MENTAL HEALTH SUMMARY
RE-READ PROVERBS 3:7-8 (ESV)
“Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”
As we think about the integration of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health; specifically thinking about mental and emotional health; Proverbs tells us our first step is to realize that relying only on self, being self-sufficient, focusing on self-realization or self-actualization will not bring us peace, emotional health, or spiritual wholeness. Self leads nowhere we want to end up as people of faith.
Remember:
* It is wise to submit to Divine Authority for the ultimate standard for wisdom is the God-breathed authority of Scripture.
* It is wise to pray for Christ-centered wisdom because God-given wisdom is formed by the biblical worldview rooted in Jesus Christ.
It is wise to shun half-truths because wisdom without the full truth of Scripture can mislead and even harm.
Therefore, mental health has with it an element of humbling ourselves before God. Humility helps us to look to Christ, accept help, admit struggles, and avoid destructive pride. Turning from harmful behavior or destructive thinking patterns is a foundational step in recovery from addiction, anger, or self-destructive tendencies. We need the Holy Spirit in us to help us with this. It is a tall task sometimes to be an emotionally healthy disciple of Jesus, but worth every prayer, spiritual conversation, Bible study, and accountable relationship.
I like how the passage ends by referencing “healing” and “refreshment.” When you and I follow after God, we give burdens to Him that we are not meant to carry when it comes to relationships or decisions we have to make. Proverbs 3:1–8 is a section of wisdom about wellness in our lives. When we ground ourselves in trust in God, we experience greater peace, clearer purpose, and better inner stability even if external circumstances or relationships are chaotic. Choose a straight path in Christ.
PRAYER
INVITATION
