"Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace"
Solomon continues his selling of the advantages of the path of wisdom by describing what being on the road of wisdom is like. In this case, he points out two aspects of the path of wisdom that many do not realize. They think that these two important joy producers are available everywhere.
pleasant
This is the Hebrew word noam, which means pleasantness, beauty, kindness, favor. Solomon is pointing out that when you dig hard to find the triple-win choices and actions, you will be introduced to a lifestyle of pleasant interactions between people or symmetry and teamwork. On the other hand, if you take the fool’s road, then it is “every man for himself and dog eat dog.” When you – through your choices – look for the choice that glorifies God and gives a win to others and a win for yourself, it creates a much more pleasant world than if you just push for the maximum win for yourself.
peace
This is the Hebrew word shalom, which means peace. It means to not be at war with others. It means to vibrate in harmony with others and create beautiful melodies and music together with others. Solomon is pointing out that when you look for the triple-win choices, your world is filled with connection and harmony between you and the other people in your life. If you choose the selfish road, then your life is filled with war and strife and contention.
This is something to think through. If, when you make a decision the people closest to you are upset and angry with you, it may not be the wise decision. Other people must see the win in this decision for them. I am amazed at the number of people who choose to ride the picket fence of selfishness and then wonder why everybody is against them. When you make decisions that only allow you to win, then it is to be expected that others would be upset. Every person is surrounded by a web of relationships and those people are important to you. When you dig for wisdom, you consider all the ramifications of your decisionsinto those relationships.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz