Being wise in your own eyes

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.” Proverbs 3:7
There are lots of people who are wise in their own eyes. They’re not necessarily in universities or governments, although many people in those kinds of places fit the bill. Anyone who thinks they know better than someone else, or thinks they know better than the law of the land (‘I can drive more than the speed limit along this road / fix this appliance / ignore this warning / etc. – I know what I’m doing’) – such a person is being wise in their own eyes.
Twice in the book of Judges we read “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (Judg. 17:6, 21:25). This might sound like a good idea – no police force to give you speeding tickets, no government to take taxes from you and impose laws that restrict you, no limitations on what you can or can’t do. But this attitude by society at large was exactly what led to the problems in the book of Judges – incidents like the Levite and his concubine (Judg. 19), which led to the tribe of Benjamin being wiped out except for 600 men (Judg. 20-21). It led to idolatry becoming rife in the land, which saw God give Israel over into the hands of their enemies. Everyone doing as they see fit will only result in anarchy. Man in his ‘natural’ state is not wise (1 Cor. 1:20). Man’s wisdom says, ‘Life is for enjoying yourself, never mind what that enjoyment does to other people’, to ‘Get all you can and can all you get’. But God’s wisdom is different. Godly wisdom is to fear God and shun evil, because by doing this we will receive an eternal reward. God’s wisdom is perfect; therefore, it doesn’t change.
So next time you are tempted to think that you know better than something or someone else, just take a moment and humble yourself. Don’t rely on your own wisdom, but on God’s. Seek His ways, put Him first, shun evil, and see the benefits.