Wise people walk backwards!
Text: Proverbs 1:20-33; 2-4
Hosts:
J. Kent Edwards
Vicki Hitzges
Nathan Norman
Narrator: Brian French
The CrossTalk Podcast is a production of CrossTalk Global, equipping biblical communicators, so every culture hears God’s voice. To find out more, or to support the work of this ministry please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org
Produced by Nathan James Norman/Untold Podcast Production
© 2025 CrossTalk Global
Brian: Benjamin Franklin said, if you failed a plan, you are planning to fail. And he was right. But having plans for your life isn't enough. You need the right plan. And author Brian Welsh has a suggestion. Drawing on research from three international universities, Welch recommends a reverse planning method. Instead of beginning with a goal for your life and then devising a strategy to reach it, he suggests the opposite approach. Start by defining your end goal, the person you want to become, and the legacy you will leave at the end of your life. And then work backwards to visualize the decisions and actions you need to take now to reach your goal. Welch highlights that the advantage of reverse planning is that it focuses on the final goal and keeps you centered on it throughout the entire process. This approach tricks your mind into being more solutions focused than traditional forward planning and helps develop the right mindset for success. The irony is that Welch's writing and the university's research reveal nothing new. Reverse planning was actually used thousands of years ago in the Bible. In Proverbs, chapters two through four, Lady Wisdom and the Father introduce the reverse planning strategy to some young men who, like all of us, need to learn it and put it into practice. Join Vicki Hitchkiss, Kent Edwards and Nathan Norman as they rediscover the old new practice of reverse planning as outlined in Proverbs chapter 1, verse 20 through chapter 4, verse 27. Welcome to CrossTalk, a Christian podcast whose goal is for us to encourage each other to not only increase our knowledge of the Bible, but to take the next step beyond information into transformation. Our goal is to bring the Bible to life, into all our lives. I'm Brian French. Today, Dr. Kent Edwards, Vicki Hitzkiss and Nathan Norman continue their discussion in the Book of Proverbs. If you have a Bible handy, turn to Proverbs chapter 1, verse 20 to chapter 4, verse 27 as we join their discussion.
Kent: Vicki, Nathan, what do you think of that reverse planning? Practice instead to make sure you have a goal, a primary objective, and work backwards towards where you are today, rather than heading in the other direction. Do you think that's a good idea?
Vicki: I'm not positive I get the difference. If I want to lose 10 pounds, I just start. It seems to me like that's the difference if I just start. As long as I stick with it, if I make good decisions going forward, I'm going to lose ten pounds. If I think, and this is why I teach goal setting. If you want to lose 10 pounds, break that down into day by day manageable chunks and do this, this, this and this until you have reached your goal. Is the difference one way you just kind of wing it, and the other way you plan it out?
Kent: Yeah. Before you start, Welch and the other universities are pointing out that reverse planning makes. It helps you focus on the final goal all the way through. So from beginning to end, that is your objective, that is your goal. So rather than every day deciding, oh, will I have pizza tonight for dinner, Will I go jogging? You've already established what your goal is, and you're walking backwards to say, I can best meet this objective, this goal for my life if that determines every step I take along the way.
Vicki: I do think there's a great advantage in planning ahead, because if you don't, you wake up in the morning and go about your day and you didn't work out in the morning. If you don't do it in the morning, my experience is it's not going to happen. And if you don't plan to buy groceries and you have frozen pizza, that's not a good diet food. Planning ahead is the secret to getting anything done right.
Kent: And if your ultimate objective, that's where you begin rather than where you are, then that helps make sure you get to where you want to go.
Vicki: It does, yeah.
Nathan: Yeah. It seems like a good process to make plans and to keep your eye on the goal.
Kent: Yeah. It was counterintuitive to me to say that, to think that wise people walk backwards from their goal in order to have a clear strategy. But there seems to be wisdom in it. And I found it interesting to see how the harsh contrast between Lady Wisdom's speech at the end of chapter one and what follows in chapters two to four bear this out. They come from different perspectives, but they're saying the same thing. Notice what lady wisdom in chapter one, what she says in verses 20 to.
Vicki: 23, she says, out in the open, Wisdom calls aloud and she raises her voice in the public square. How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will fools hate knowledge repent at my rebuke? Then I will make known to you my teachings.
Kent: So here Lady Wisdom is trying to get the attention of, well, quite frankly, stupid people making foolish choices. It's pretty insulting, actually, what she's saying in verse 22. She calls them simple. That means ignorant and fools. Do you want to know what fools mean? That means the same in English as it does in Hebrew. They are just making very stupid decisions. They're doing what seems right to them at the moment or they wouldn't be doing it. They're making the easy decisions without considering the consequences of those decisions long term. And they're refusing to listen to God's word. Meanwhile, Lady Wisdom is desperately trying to grab their attention and warn them about the long term consequences of their short sighted decisions. They're not walking backwards, they're walking forwards. And their starting point is not going to lead them to where they ultimately want to go. Guys, have you known people who lean on their own understanding and maybe social media to make decisions, refusing to consider the wisdom, the counsel of scripture?
Nathan: Yeah, this might be a graphic image, but I'd seen somebody post a meme that said their research and it had a bunch of scientists in a lab and they have Bunsen burners and beakers and notebooks and they're taking it down and then it said your research and it had a person sitting on a toilet looking at their smartphone. I think that's the contrasting image we have here. God has revealed his truth. He's revealed reality through the word of God. And we have this opportunity to be transformed by it. Even if we don't fully understand why he tells us to do something or to avoid something, it probably would make sense that the God of the universe would have good reasons for that and our best interests in mind versus just saying, you know what, whatever. I'm going to follow the trends. I'm going to do what I want to do, I'm going to do what feels right. I'm going to follow my heart. That is a hard thing that we face, I think, on a regular basis with individuals that we deal with.
Kent: Yeah, and again, Lady Wisdom here is talking to God's people. So I think theoretically they have a goal that they want to have a good relationship with God. But in the moment, because they're not thinking backwards, the decisions they're making are actually precluding that goal that they would like to have someday. They're making all the wrong choices and Lady Wisdom wants them to know that. You can see in this passage that God's grace is great, but it is not inexhaustible. And listen to the strong words she speaks to those wrongheaded, short term oriented people in verses 24 and following. Look at what she says to them.
Vicki: She says, but since you refused to listen when I call and no one pays attention and disregards my advice, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you. I will mock when calamity overtakes you and distress and trouble overwhelm you. Then they will call to me, but I will not answer. They will look for me, but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, since they would not accept my advice, they will always eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
Kent: That's strong language. Wouldn't you agree? I'm gonna laugh at you.
Vicki: I've heard that before. I once went to the swimming pool and I am white. I am pasty white. I am sadly white. And my mother told me, you don't stay there for more than 3, 30, 45 minutes at the most. I stayed for three hours and I came home and I was not white anymore. I was screaming, red and blistered. And my mother adored me. And I remember she stood in my doorway and she said, I am not feeling sorry for you. And she meant it. And as bad as my sunburn hurt, the fact that my mother refused to care hurt as much or more. And she meant it. She said, I told you, you disobeyed me and look at the consequences. And I don't care.
Nathan: Wow.
Vicki: Yeah, that's strong language. She probably did care, but I don't remember her tending to me after that. So I was just burned and blistered and hurting, and then my mother stood in the doorway. I don't care. And that's. That's what Lady Wisdom is saying. You're going to disobey. You're going to do the wrong thing. You've been war.
Kent: I will mock when calamity overtakes you. That's right, I will mock. And you will eat the fruit of your ways and man. I don't hear preaching like that. Am I alone in that? Do you hear someone say, you make wrong choices and this is what's going to happen?
Vicki: Yeah, we hear a lot about grace, but we don't hear this.
Kent: I hear grace, grace, grace, grace. And I'm glad for grace. And there is grace. Don't get me wrong, but if we continue to make short term bad decisions, we're going to face the consequences. And she even gets stronger in verses 32 and 33, doesn't she, Nathan?
Nathan: She says, for the waywardness of the simple will kill them and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm.
Kent: Well, the lesson of Lady Wisdom is clear. If you make life decisions based on their immediate impact on your life, you're heading towards destruction. No, you need to plan backwards. You need to view every decision in light of where you want to be. Not live in the moment, but live in the Future. We see this in life. For example, bank robbers, they benefit from having cash in their pockets if they're successful. Right. But the problem is they fail to consider the inevitable destructive long term consequences of their actions.
Nathan: Good example of this. Great example of this. When I was in Michigan, there was a man who held up a bank. He stole the money from the bank and he did it in a bright rust red van. Right. Very, very distinctive color. So the cops found him about two hours after the heist in one of the local casinos, gambling with the money he stole from the bank. So obviously the lesson is don't gamble unless it's with someone else's money. But they picked him up within two hours and now the rest of his life is in the toilet.
Kent: Yeah. Another example. An adulterer will enjoy immediate pleasurable encounter, but overlooks the unavoidable long term destructive consequences.
Vicki: That reminds me of that couple at Coldplay. They were rocking out, having fun, and then the camera went on them and the guy from the stage said, I don't remember the whole thing, but he said, or they're having an affair. And they turned away and ducked down. The guy lost his job. I think she resigned.
Kent: Yeah. And divorces have. At least one divorce has taken place. Yeah. They went away for an inappropriate evening at least. And their lives were ruined.
Vicki: And everybody's life gets ruined. Their spouses. Yeah.
Kent: In chapters three and four, a person that is identified as father. So this is a picture as a father talking to their human son. But the father in chapters three and four tells the son. Well. He explains the advantages of adopting an eternal perspective when making life choices. He encourages asking questions like who do I really want to become? What legacy do I want to leave behind? And then to ask the million dollar question, Will the decision I am making today take me to that destination? Will I be heading in the right direction? The ultimate goal of godly people is described by this father figure in verses six to eight of chapter two.
Vicki: It says, for the Lord gives wisdom. From his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright. He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless. For he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Kent: Well, I think all of us want that, don't we?
Vicki: Yep.
Kent: We want to have knowledge and understanding so that we can enjoy his being a shield for us as we go through the temptations of life. And he promises if we do, he will guard the course of the just, protect the way of his faithful ones. How can we do that? Now that he has given us the goal, how can we enjoy that? Verses one to five, he says, my.
Nathan: Son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
Kent: The Father is telling all of us that we are wise if we make our moral choices based on our life goals. Don't allow today's decisions to determine your destiny. I think that's why that famous proverb in chapter three, verse five is said.
Vicki: That was the first verse I ever learned. 3, 5 and 6 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways. It says here, submit to him, acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Kent: He is to be our goal. He is the object of our life. We want to be like him. We want to be with Him. So in all our ways we are to submit to Him. Make our decisions today because that is the goal we have for tomorrow. We've made the goal. Now let's walk backwards to how we should live today so we enjoy it. And again, he reiterates this in chapter four.
Nathan: Says, listen my sons, to a father's instruction. Pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching, for I too was a son to my father, still tender and cherished by my mother. Then he taught me and he said to me, take hold of my words with all your heart. Keep my commands and you will live.
Kent: Powerful words. Take hold of my words with all your heart. Keep my commands and your goal, the object of your life, will be yours. If you take hold of my words with all your heart and keep my commands, then you will live. Then you will enjoy all that I want to give you. Lady Wisdom and the Father are really saying the same thing to us. Live life in terms of eternity. Don't adopt a short term perspective on morality. They're both begging us not to make decisions based on the immediate gratification that they offer. That's Satan's strategy, isn't it? He holds out something that looks tasty, that looks like it would be pleasurable in the moment. He puts a worm over the hook, hoping that we will bite for the worm and ignore the hook underneath Instead, Lady Wisdom and this father figure, they are telling us to ask ourselves, will this choice immediately in front of me, will it move me closer to the person I Want to be. Will this path strengthen or weaken my legacy? Telling us to think backwards. And we see this basic principle that they are begging us to adopt found over and over again in the Bible. I mean, how many people in scripture, in retrospect, wish they had thought backwards? I'm going to start at the beginning. Adam and Eve.
Vicki: Cain sacrificed the wrong thing and then he killed his brother Abel.
Kent: Do you think he regretted that?
Vicki: Yes, I'm sure that he did.
Nathan: Cursed for the rest of his days. Yeah.
Kent: Put a mark on him. And he was separated from family and everyone else wandered for the rest of his life. Adam and Eve, you think they regretted eating the forbidden fruit?
Vicki: We all have.
Kent: But in the moment, it seemed good. I'm sure they enjoyed the taste. There was the consequences. They weren't thinking of the future. They were caught in the moment. Cain made the same mistake. What about Moses? I mean, he's one of my greatest heroes in the Bible by way the. He made a mistake, remember? Yeah.
Vicki: He threw his rod down and ticked God off.
Kent: Yeah. He hit the rock in anger.
Vicki: Yeah.
Kent: And probably felt good at the moment. Have you ever felt good when you lost your temper.
Nathan: Exclusively?
Vicki: Losing my temper, yes. Terrible thing.
Kent: I just feel sometimes I give into that, that I feel this righteous indignation. How many times have I felt unfortunately good when sent that email? And the extent to which I felt morally justified when I pushed send is the amount I regret it later. Oh, a little bit more thought about consequences would have been good. How about Lot? Do you remember when Abram and Lot stood on the mountain and they had to make a choice because their flocks were so big that they couldn't both stay close together? And Abram did the gracious thing and said, whatever you see, pick whatever you want. And what did Lot choose? Where did he want to live?
Vicki: I want this good side over here. Give me Sodom.
Kent: We chuckle now because of what happened. But what a bad decision. He chose the best land. He put money, profitability above all else. How'd that work out for him?
Vicki: Not well.
Nathan: He lost his wife. Other gross things happened. His whole town got destroyed.
Kent: Bleh. So everything. All the money he made, what happened to it?
Nathan: Burned in the fire.
Kent: Burned in the fire. And he ran with nothing. Lost his wife and daughters, who had some serious moral problems. David, A man after God's own heart.
Nathan: Yeah, I'm preaching on that. This weekend we're doing a first person. Yay. Yeah. Abuse of Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. And at the moment he thought, okay, this is great. One of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. Forget the seven, maybe eight other wives that I have. I want this right now. I want this right now. And it just snowballed. It kept getting worse and worse and worse and worse.
Kent: When you make decisions and you're caught up in the moment and you're not thinking of the eternal objectives, the long term goal that you have in life, if you're not thinking backwards, you can make terrible decisions that can change the course of your life.
Nathan: What you have done in secrecy will be brought into the light of day for all to see.
Kent: Look, it happened to them. It can happen to us. We need wisdom today to make life decisions that help us become the Godly people we want to be in the future and to leave a legacy that inspires others to follow our example, our good example. The world's full of bad examples, but how can we become positive role models for our family, for our friends, for our congregations, for the world? I think we need the Book of Proverbs. The Book of Proverbs tells us what wise decisions we need to make today so that our life objectives can be accomplished. Let's continue to read it. Let's be sure to live by it and evaluate every decision we make from an internal perspective. Because wise people go through life walking backwards.
Brian: Every day, we make choices, including how to react when things go wrong, how to respond to trying circumstances, and how to interact with others. Proverbs gives us a lot of wise advice about how to make wise choices. That's important because while God may forgive us, he will not erase the dire consequences of our unwise decisions. I trust that today's discussion of God's Word has been helpful and served as an encouragement to not just be hearers of the Word, but doers. Together, let's bring God's Word to life, to our lives. This week, the crosstalk Podcast is a production of crosstalk Global equipping biblical communicators so every culture hears God's voice. To find out more about this educational nonprofit organization, please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org Crosstalk just completed successful trainings in Moldova and Bucharest, Romania help us train the next generation of biblical communicators. All you have to do is click Donate in the show notes and make a donation of any size. You can also support this show by rating it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're enjoying it. Be sure to listen next Friday as we continue our journey through the Book of Proverbs. You won't want to miss it it.
Kent: Nathan, you wanted to say something? No. Okay.