The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.
The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight,
but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.
The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust.
When the wicked dies, his hope will perish,
and the expectation of wealth perishes too.
The righteous is delivered from trouble,
and the wicked walks into it instead.
With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbour,
but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.Proverbs 11:3-9
The theme running through these verses is righteousness in relation to problems of guidance and the pitfalls in life that await the unwary. Two very important statements occur in 3 and 5 which have a great deal to teach us on the whole vexed question of divine guidance. What they proclaim unequivocally is that when there is a real purpose in a man to walk in the truth, the Spirit of God can be counted upon for guidance and direction; God guides us through the integrity He has wrought in us by His grace. If He is having His way in our lives, we will think right thoughts, we will have right perception and right discernment. It is only when integrity of heart is assailed by other, ulterior motives that complications arise. We all know from our own experience that wishful thinking has a great deal to answer for in this matter. If we want desperately that God's will should lie in a particular direction, the temptation is very great to convince ourselves that His will does lie there. This is our blind spot, others may see clearly that we are on the wrong track, but we become oblivious to this in the end, because we have so convinced ourselves - because we have wanted to convince ourselves. 'Wrong' guidance, then, or continued problems in guidance, raise the question of one's integrity.
The emphasis on guidance by integrity and righteousness underlines once again that God's ideal is that guidance be from within rather than from without, that they who are joined to the Lord should be one spirit, and therefore should think His thoughts. This is the meaning of integrity: when a man is right with God, he will be right; and when he is right, he will be led in the right way by that rightness. It is what a man is that determines how and where he goes.