Evil in Today's Society
In a world that seems more dangerous, Solomon's insights on what God detests shed light on the destructive trends prevalent today. From criminal personalities to those living selfishly, the consequences of wicked schemes and rush into evil are explored. Discover the impact of self-centered behaviors on relationships and the deprivation of real love.
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~ Uncommon ~ The Common Sense of God Wisdom for Beginners Proverbs 6 Seven Detestable Things Pt 2 1
Last week I spoke to the first three of seven things that God detests/hates 1- haughty eyes, 2- a lying tongue, 3- hands that shed innocent blood,. Today we need to cover the other four -- 4- a heart that devises wicked schemes, 5- feet that are quick to rush into evil, 6- A false witness who pours out lies, 7- someone who stirs up dissention among brothers ~When I was growing up, the world was safer. Let me rephrase. It was not as sinister on a human level! The world was still a dangerous place bad people existed, and schoolyard bullies, and accidents happened, but people did not live in fear, and were noticeably more mentally stable. ~Now things are much safer, right? There are inane safety instructions on everything from extension cords, to a sign on the cotton balls telling you not to eat them! Schools have special assemblies to teach on bullying. All the unsafe swimming holes are closed. Everything is supposedly safer! So, why does the world seem so much more dangerous than it used to be and in reality it is?! Well, this has happened because an increasing number of people take pleasure in seeing evil and doing evil! It is part of fallen human nature to be attracted to evil rather than repelled, and more people than ever are flocking to see evil done, or to involve themselves in it! ~I think that most of us recognize that people these days have, in general, become more dangerous, much less mentally stable, combined with much less of an ability to control themselves! They are so suggestable that they believe any concocted story they run across on the internet because, of course, the internet never lies! They must comment on social media on everything, and it is often loaded with insults, and political and religious invectives! Invective means abusive or venomous language that expresses outrage, that is intended to censure, and convey deep and profound malice toward another person! It is really gross stuff. It seems to me that the less solid grounding they have in family or religion, the more they totally and completely embrace bizarre, harmful, and hateful cultural ideologies and behaviors! [Rom. 1:28-32] ~So Solomon, here in Proverbs 6, continues to list what God hates most. He has looked closely, analytically at his own culture and seen the same destructive trends that we see today! He concludes that God despises 4- a heart that devises wicked schemes ,and 5- feet that are quick to rush to join the wicked schemer in their evildoing! I am connecting and combining the two because the second seems to me to be connected with the first. Now, this probably does not direct apply to most people today. This would apply best, I think, in our time and place, to a criminal type of person who does not like any rules or limitations upon their life. Most people happen to like the rules and the peace and stability that comes with them. But there is a certain personality type that thrives on rule breaking and the trouble it causes. If there isn t any trouble at the moment, they will find a nasty way to cause it! They create drama and trouble, and then, depending on how lawless their activities were, they may end up incarcerated, because they have shown that they will endanger the populace if they are left in it!! 2
Then there are other people - non-criminal - who live within the law, yet not well. They run on selfishness. They do not realize how hard they are making their lives! Broken relationships define the various periods of their lives! These types enjoy the pleasures of hedonism and power over others mostly over those close to them. They are selfish, and therefore are self-deprived of real love! Real love is selfless. It is an amazingly satisfying feeling to give of oneself to another person, and to put their needs ahead of our own! But, unfortunately, these types of people will never know that kind of love! Their unchecked selfishness is all they know, and it sours and rots all relationships, usually within just a brief time and this too is all they know! These types do not try to avoid trouble. They run to it! Then they lament their misery! And then they do it again - and it is all a vicious cycle! That has become the definition of a large percentage of people s lives in this day and place! Relational dissonance is on the rise out in the world and also in the churches, and picking up steam! Even just a little wisdom and restraint would turn lives around, but most people seem incapable of changing their downward trajectory on their own - even one little bit! When I try help them and turn them to the solutions of Jesus, they are uninterested maybe even offended! God despises this cycle! He gave us good brains to think and reason with, and when we refuse to use them we defile and shame ourselves and His image in us! Therefore, God is thoroughly disgusted and angered, as well He should be! He obviously hates criminal behavior, but for the rest of us, we cannot pinball through life, careening off of others like they are just in our way! Jesus and His apostles teach and demonstrate for us God s design for harmony and goodness, so that we are never again caught up in the selfishness of doing evil, and promoting falsehood! But do not make the mistake of thinking that Christians are incapable of such chaos! We certainly are! The Apostle Peter compared some Christian s behavior to a pig that is washed goes back to its wallow - its mud bath [2 Pet. 2:22]. Christians can and do - with impunity like there is no fear of God in them! They just decide to take back control,.. so they do,.. contorted in self-justification, and then they begin living a life of accumulated regret again like before they ever knew Christ! It is so sad, and it happens more often than you would think! ~Then there is the 6th sin that God especially hates - A false witness who pours out lies . I have always wondered how someone could lie on the witness stand knowing that their false testimony will be used to convict someone who is innocent, and get them sent away to prison for years, or even a lifetime, or perhaps a terrible financial loss through lawsuits or fines! Who can do that and sleep peacefully at night ever again?! And yet, it is done all the time, here and across the face of this earth, and it has always been that way! People do evil and destructive things that purposefully affect the lives of others in terrible ways then move on! They turn around and act as if they never did anything wrong, or it is someone else s fault, or that what they did was justifiable! But how can a person destroy someone else s life, someone who is innocent of the accusations, and think that they will get away with it?! Well, God has seen what they have done, and no one, ultimately, will get away with anything! For today, maybe - but for tomorrow never! But people do not think of their choices to do evil to someone, as affecting them tomorrow! They live for today! Tomorrow has no meaning for them until tomorrow finally becomes today, and then there is hell to pay as they say, and then they will care! 3
~7- And finally, God especially hates when someone stirs up dissention among brothers. It begs the question of why someone would even want to violate someone else s associations and friendships? Perhaps it is that people store up garbage inside of themselves from the disappointments, betrayals, injustices, and all other manner of hurts, accumulated from life lived in association with other human beings. So they become a repository for the toxicity of anger, bitterness, and resentments! That is an explosive mix! *If you have an expired milk carton, and bacteria have begun to grow in the sealed carton, the sides will bulge because of the pressure buildup. The same is true of a person with all this emotional garbage. They need to release the pressure and where do you think it goes?! It goes outward against anyone close by! Those in emotional pain often cause pain, or try to. They think it will make them feel better, but only feeds on itself so that the person is compelled to cause even more pain! According to Solomon, there is something particularly revolting to God, when someone come into a situation where there is harmony, and tries to create jealousies, or resentments, or perceived injuries were there were none before! But it shouldn t surprise us. Often, people in pain will react to that inner pain by using their intelligence to start disagreements, divisions, and dissonance in the group! Yet it is God s intention that when we are caused pain, that pain should produce empathy for others that are in pain! The last thing we should want to do is cause more pain for our pain to be spread outward from us! But evil has a hold on humanity and some will embrace evil and do wrong and sometimes terribly so! There is not one of these that that does not know that they have given themselves over to evil! They will deny it vehemently, even to themselves, but deep down they know! Well, Solomon says that God hates that reaction to our own pain! He gave us a brain and a will to figure it out. He gave us the Holy Spirit to live inside of us, and one of the reasons for this, is to point out our unresolved issues that so readily lead to relational sin! The Christian response is to resolve our anger, bitterness, resentments by bringing it to the cross, laying it down there, and leaving it in God s hands [Matt. 11:28]. Then we turn and walk away from it, and return to a path of humble obedience! If we do not, we will end up being practically useless to God! When we finally recognize the damage sin does, it is at the point that we finally give it up, and trust God with it, wash our hands of it and leave it with Him and then we can be made useful to Him again - living in His love, not hiding from it! 4
