Proverbs 19:16

He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of his ways will die.
Proverbs 19:16

The Hebrew word for keep in this verse means to guard, tend, hedge about, or observe. We can picture this verse as tending to what the Bible commands in order to guard our soul, and keeping Jesus’ commandments is a direct demonstration of our love for Him (John 14:5).

Our salvation cannot be lost, but we sure can make a mess of things if we become careless in how we tend to our obedience to Jesus. We all have an obligation to personal responsibility in various aspects of our lives, and spiritual matters is one of them. We need to tend to our walk with Jesus lest we end up in a ditch. When we put forth an effort in our walks, we will be blessed spiritually and will be able to ride the waves of life when they come. Verse 27 of this chapter tells us that if we cease listening to instruction, we will stray from the words of knowledge, which illustrates the direct consequence of carelessness.

Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV) commands us to “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” We are responsible for how we spend our time, and if we are being wise, we will make sure that our choices and pursuits are in line with Jesus’ commands.

Walking circumspectly,

Pastor Jeff Mericle