Pondering Proverbs: Self Sourced Solitude ~ Proverbs 18:1

Perhaps you've noted that I tend to give a particular amount of attention to the book of Proverbs.

You're right.

This is probably the consequence of spending so much time there in my reading times as well. So, in an effort to keep things somewhat tidy around here, I've decided to assign a general category to our Proverbs posts, and I've called it "Pondering Proverbs". Hence, whenever I set out to write something from the book of Proverbs, I'll make that much clear in the title (or at least attach the appropriate tag), as you see in today's post.

Our passage for today is the familiar verse of Proverbs 18:1, as the title suggests. I don't intend for this to be long, but only to bring this verse to mind in more focused light, and hopefully etch it in our memories more firmly and clearly "that [it] may be ready on [our] lips" (Proverbs 22:18b).

The verse goes like this:

"He who separates himself seeks his own desire, 
He quarrels against all sound wisdom. " ~ Proverbs 18:2

 Now, it's not terribly difficult to recognize this kind of person, simply because his isolation is his identification - particularly in that he actually wants to be alone. I say that to clarify that this is not one who was separated involuntarily - perhaps as a result of mere consequence or something - but of his own doing. This is a volitional isolation, not an obligatory one. In other words, his will is behind his solitude - he prefers to be this way. So then, once we have identified this person (be it ourselves or someone else), we can then discern two things about him from this verse:

1) He is gripped with a desire to his get what he wants, and is verifiably busy striving to make it happen. He's on a mission, and his goal is to obtain whatever it is he's craving. Obviously, separating himself doesn't contradict that end, so we can safely conclude that his desire doesn't involve a lot of other people besides himself. Further, it is not as though his craving, whatever it may be for, is a commendable one, as it is not compatible with wisdom. Speaking of...

2) He is allergic to sound wisdom. When exposed to it, he breaks out. Such being the case, it is reasonable to conclude that in his self-isolation, he has cut himself off from any wisdom - which has obvious implications on the condition of his own heart. (Notice that we're told both what he does want and what he doesn't want) Perhaps we could say it this way: he associates exclusively with himself, that way he won't risk running into wisdom or anything of the sort.

Now, this is particularly necessary for discerning our own hearts, like this: When I am content enough with me to spend my time with me and only me, then I should not expect myself to actually listen if I ever were to be exposed to sound wisdom. If I do indeed fit into this category, then I won't at all like wisdom when/if I encounter it. So, reasonably, my own perception and compulsion should not be trusted. In fact, I should expect to be quite irritated and bothered by wisdom, I should anticipate myself to take offense and be very unsettled when anyone dares to infringe on my self-sufficiency by offering a bit of wisdom for me to learn and be instructed by. After all...


I just want to be by myself so I can do what I want to do - so please leave me alone. Please.