Seeing the Pride in Pouting

Today’s words of wisdom come from Proverbs Chapter 18, verse 1 revealing to us why we pout, we withdraw, or remove ourselves from exposure to the wisdom of God.

“Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.”

The answer to why one withdraws, whether it be in relationships or church attendance, or even friendship, is found in the first two words.

Through desire, meaning forbidden desire (aka lust), we will separate ourselves from wisdom.

What kind of desires would cause one to withdraw from relationships, fellowship, or even friendship? The answer to that question is wide and vast. Lust or forbidden desire or ‘wanting’ can take many forms. The most obvious is of a sexual nature, but relating lust to sex only makes us blind to the many other forms. In the truest sense, lust is a desire to please self regardless of consequences. The focus of lust is primarily greed and selfishness.

James 1:15 tells us the result of entertaining these greedy and selfish desires. The result is death; of relationships, of friendships, of fellowships.

When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

Our verse today tells us why we withdraw. We are self centered. And when we entertain these unholy desires, we begin to justify them. We intermeddleth, or struggle, or rationalize our desires.

Wisdom does have a voice. Her words are found in Proverbs 8:1-12. When we separate ourselves from our relationships, our friendships and fellowships, we are pulling away from wisdom. Perhaps the reason is found in the last few words of Proverbs 8:12 …


“I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.”

Be First to Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *