June 23 Devotional from Proverbs

Proverbs 6 (Scripture taken from the King James Version, 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States. To read this passage from The Message, go to www.biblegateway.com and do a passage lookup.)
12 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

There really is no point to try to sugar-coat this. God is warning us to stay away from people who lie, cheat and steal. He is warning us about the person who is continually “into something” – and we all know somebody like this. This is the person who cheats at school or steals from Wal-Mart or “does drugs” or can always score alcohol and cigarettes for teenagers. This is the adult who maxes out credit cards at the casino, cheats on his/her taxes, and says things like “don’t tell my husband/wife about this.” This is the person who always has some grand scheme or story about this or that. This passage says that people like this will be “broken without remedy.” Another translation says they will be “broken beyond repair.”And lest we wonder, this passage spells out completely seven things God hates: pride; lying; murder; con artists; chasing trouble; perjury… swearing to be truthful, then lying (or breaking your word); stirring up trouble in your family.

Now, we all know the Ten Commandments. We know that breaking those laws angers God. But did you realize how much He hates the behaviors of prideful people, con artists, and family troublemakers, or those who are just “mischief makers?!” We must all search our hearts and see if any of these traits even remotely apply to our own lives, and if so, we must take whatever steps necessary to clean up our act. As the scripture says, to do otherwise could lead to a “calamity” beyond repair or remedy. We know what to do to avoid this… now it is up to us to “git-r-done!”

©2007 Debbie Robus