What does Proverbs 23:19 mean?

This is another reminder from Solomon for his son—possibly meaning a student—to make good use of his teachings. Life's choices are often described as walking a path (Proverbs 4:11, 18, 26), so those who follow God's will can avoid both danger and becoming lost. This is a major theme of the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 1:1–10). True wisdom begins with a reverent submission to God's will. While most of the wisdom in this book was written by Solomon, this passage is part of thirty wise teachings which Solomon endorsed, but likely did not write (Proverbs 22:17–21). Several times, in recounting those lessons, Solomon includes this reminder (Proverbs 23:12, 26).

Jesus used the analogy of paths when speaking about the basic choice facing all people. Each way has a gate; one is wide, the other is narrow. A person must choose which gate he will enter. The wide gate opens to an easy way—the kind that's easy to envy (Proverbs 23:17). The narrow gate opens to a hard way, which the world sees as unreasonable. Christ noted that many choose to enter the wide gate and follow the easy way, but that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13). Few choose the narrow gate, but the "hard way" leads to life (Matthew 7:14). He commanded: "Enter by the narrow gate" (Matthew 7:13).

In his farewell speech, Joshua commanded the people of Israel to "Choose this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15). The gospel offers a similar pair of options: to believe on Jesus and follow Him or reject Him and follow a path leading to destruction.