This verse says “straying from the path of understanding” will cause us to end up settled down “in the company of the dead.” That doesn’t sound at all good to me!
While we all eventually die, the context here suggests an inappropriate place where we don’t need to be. In fact, “comes to rest in the company of the dead” seems to represent a bit of a process – it apparently doesn’t happen overnight. But it can happen, even when we didn’t have any intentions of going there.
So, it’s a bit scary because I don’t find it all that difficult to wander off “the path of understanding.” While most of us know there’s a right path, there are still so many distractions and so many potential rabbit trails to explore.
Yet we’re reminded here that the consequences of our wanderings can be most severe. But the good news is that it doesn’t need to be either scary or difficult. If we keep our daily focus on God and His plan for our lives, we will have no problem staying on “the path of understanding.”
But taking our focus off Him – and focusing on people, places or things instead – will set us up for a visit we would really rather not have to make. Ultimately it’s my choice – one day at a time!