stephen R Harrison

The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway. -Proverbs 15:19

Highways and hedges are different. The first allows for movement, and the other stops it. Nothing will prevent you from picking a rose faster than its thorns. My dad used to say thorn bushes are good deterrents around a home’s windows. They keep burglars out and teenagers in. In Proverbs 15:19-24, Solomon reintroduces us to the sluggard and the fool. We’ve seen them before in Proverbs (6:6-9; 13:4). His use of “path” and “highway for the upright versus the “thorn bush” for the sluggard helps to contrast freedom and bondage. Fools are enslaved to the miserable consequences of their choices, while the righteous enjoy unhindered movement from theirs. 

I’ve carried a machete to clear a path when I’ve hiked in the woods. One of the vines I hate is what we call saw briar. It isn’t easy to chop down and sometimes isn’t easy to spot. It will hinder your ability to walk freely as you pause to clear it and hurt from it after it has cut your legs. There was a spot in my yard I decided to let grow up and not mow anymore. Those saw briar vines grew up there, making it a hazard for my kids. I realized I needed to trim it to keep those out of my yard. Solomon says a sluggard – a lazy man – neglects, ignores, and avoids things that will eventually stop him in his tracks and cause pain. A godly man must work hard and keep the lazy saw briars cut out of his life. God designed man to tend the garden (Genesis 2:15). Thorns result from the fall of sinful man (Genesis 3:17-18). They are associated with evil (Micah 7:4). In being diligent workers and seeing work as worship unto the Lord, men fulfill their call to provide and tend and, as a result, cut down the thorns that stop their path of the Lord’s will.

Proverbs 15 also warns men of being fools. “Folly delights a man who lacks judgment, but a man of understanding keeps a straight course” (21). Solomon says there is a man who finds joy in being foolish. This man is in the thorns, for sure. He is trapped, yet he continues to walk deeper into the brush while laughing. A man who stays on the course of wisdom found by spending time with God in his Word understands his path is free of obstacles that hinder his walk with the Lord. The timely Word (23), given through many advisers (22), brings success and true joy. This is the wise path to the best life, one on the road with Christ. We must not be on the one that leads to death (24). Proverbs men must choose which path they will follow – the wise one that leads closer to Christ or the foolish one that leads further from Him. 

Submitting to the wise counsel of others instead of following the same old thorny path will lead to success. It’s in the multitude of counselors that our blind spots, flaws, shortcomings, and even sins are spotted that we can often miss. We ask for trouble when we don’t allow trusted, wise advisers in. Proverbs 15 men keep godly men around them because it keeps them out of foolishness. We all want things that lead to life, but we often pursue them in ways that bring about death. Death to relationships, calling, and godly purpose can result from a man wandering down the path of foolishness. Trusted advisers walking with God help us from being sluggards and fools. We need godly men speaking “timely words” from God’s Word in our lives. We must have others calling to us, “Come over here! This is the right path. Get out of the thorny hedges and onto the highway of holiness.” Which path are you on, and who is on that path with you? 

Questions to Ponder

1. In what area of life could you be considered a sluggard?
2. What “thorns” are you caught up in that have kept you from the pathway to the Lord?
3. What verse stands out the most to you?
4. What other questions came to mind?

Actions to Take

1. Find a godly man, a trusted adviser, who knows you well, and ask them to speak into your life. Ask them if they see you as a sluggard or foolish in some part of life.
2. What Scriptures outside of Proverbs speak to the sluggard or foolish?

Scriptures to Read

Proverbs 6:10, 12:16, 14:15, 18:2, 21:25

Prayers to Pray

Jesus, keep me on the path that leads to you. When caught in the thorns, may I listen to your timely Word. Give me trusted advisers who will speak life-saving words into my life. Keep me far from foolishness. I desire my joy to be found in you, not in foolish ways. Thank you for loving me when caught in the thorns. Thank you for taking thorns on your head while on the cross to overcome sin and death. In Jesus’ name, Amen.