No one cannot improve on the wise conclusion God inspired to be written by Solomon. Solomon records that inspired conclusion in the form of a “command” in Proverbs 3:5-8
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be
not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD and depart from evil. It shall be health to
thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
During the first half of my life, I was taught that the Proverbs are merely suggestions about that which God believers ought to obey. That kind of interpretation was also taught to apply to Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Parents of unruly children frequently claim they have done all they could do to “Train up their unruly child in the way he should go.” However, that is an appeal to nonsense because even the best parents can always do a better job.
But my observation of the evidence is that sectarian Christians who teach that the Proverbs are merely generalities rather than guaranteed outcomes are frequently the same Christians who have children who have in some sense “departed from God’s Truth.” It is common for those who have wayward children to claim that they have done everything they can be expected to do but their free-willed children have somehow disobeyed despite their parents’ very best effort to train their wayward children.
It is common for guilty humans to want to blame someone or something other than themselves. That is exactly what Adam and Eve did when confronted by God in Genesis 3:19-13
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And
Adam said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked;
and I hid myself. And the LORD God asked, who told thee that thou wast naked?
Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
And Adam said, the woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the
tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God asked the woman, what is this that thou hast
done? And Eve said, the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. Modern sectarians emulate Adam and Eve’s technique for “passing the buck” when they teach the nonsense that Satan was an effective force who prevailed against God by causing Eve to commit sin.
However, if Satan is capable to prevail against God at the beginning of time, then it would be utter nonsense to believe God can prevail against Satan at the end of time. And yet that is exactly what many wisdom-deficient Bible scholars seem to believe and teach.
What is your own interpretation of the importance of the 1st half of Proverbs 3:5 that states “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart.” Do you think that statement is literally God’s command or is it God’s suggestion? I ask the same question about the 2nd half of Proverbs 3:5 that commands “Lean NOT unto your own understanding.”
As of AD60 the epistle to the Ephesians has informed modern humans about why God created anything. That information is written “to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known BY THE CHURCH the manifold wisdom of God” (Eph 3:10). Accordingly, every pulpit message must recognize that every CHURCH is nothing more than a gathering of humans who are metaphorically identified as being either “tares or wheat.” And every “pastor teacher” who offers “dead tares” the option of choosing to no longer be “dead” by simply “believeth in Him” is guilty of a wisdom deficient “leaning unto his own understanding” rather than “trusting the LORD with all his heart.”
The conclusion from reading this book is the responsibility of each reader no matter how sincerely you address Jesus as LORD and no matter how sincerely you claim the accuracy of your conflicted belief system. A sovereign and omniscient God has “predestined” everything to happen the way God wants it to happen.
Do you really think God want you to read and trust the published commentaries and study helps written by Bible scholars who conflict with rival Bible scholars who also publish commentaries and study helps?
Does your preferred “pastor teacher” “Trust in the LORD with all his heart?” or does your preferred “pastor teacher” “lean to his own conflicted understanding” about that which sectarian approved commentaries and study helps say?