Wisdom Follows God, Not Self - Proverbs 3:5

If we are going to grow in wisdom, then we need to trust God and trust self, less. In order to trust God, I must learn the ways of God. My understanding must be calibrated by God's wisdom. Otherwise, I will be led astray. My understanding (separate from the wisdom of God) will cause me to make decisions that are not in alignment with HIs will.

Dr. Solomon is teaching us something about fallen mankind. There is something wrong with us due to the fall. Since we are being instructed to trust God and not my understanding, then something is inherently wrong with the reasoning capacity of mankind. Due to the noetic effects of sin, we need to learn to trust God. This is why advice such as - follow your own heart - is so dangerous. We don't follow our hearts, we need to trust God. Since I cannot trust myself, then I need outside revelation. God provides us revelation in His word. The more we give ourselves to the study and application of His revelation, the more we grow in wisdom. Within this text, we have a warning to avoid self-deception, self-confidence, and intellectual pride. Just consider the arrogance and rebellion of fallen mankind, who refuses to submit to godly wisdom. When we consider the affairs of our land (where good is called evil and evil called good; and justice is perverted), we need a dose of trusting God.