For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
Isaiah 55:8
What are God’s ways? They are how he thinks and acts in a given context. God’s ways are always consonant with his nature and character. God is absolute perfection in all his attributes. God’s love for us is therefore perfect and without variance. But if God is love, he must also be just. The lover that does not protect and defend the beloved is less than perfect. Love demands justice—it protects the weak. Consequently without justice, love is mere sentiment. Love demands an ethic.
God’s ways are therefore ethical; they are the knowledge of God and his law practically applied; they are wisdom. The Book of Proverbs is devoted to wisdom—the practical application of God’s laws and thus his ways.
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.
Proverbs 6:23
God’s ways are not only for the Christian believer, but also for society.
God’s ways, consequently, involve:
