17 The
highway of the upright avoids evil;
those who guard their ways preserve their lives.
those who guard their ways preserve their lives.
The
wisdom granted to us by Solomon today is so valuable. As always, with the Proverbs, read too fast
and you miss it. He offers that we
should, literally, have a highway that departs from evil. This means that in our day to day, as we are
doing life, cruising down our highway, things are going to appear before our
eyes, situations are going to arise and feelings are going to be stirred that
push our buttons or entice us. We are to ACTIVELY DEPART from these situations,
literally leave. Exit stage left. Gone.
He
instructs us that we have to guard with fidelity (natsar). This means that we are to guard our travels
with a faithfulness to God. To guard from evil and to depart from it’s presence.
So what is evil then? We know of evil in it’s most obscene cases,
but how does the Bible define evil? The
word here is “ra”, meaning:
bad, evil
1.
bad, disagreeable, malignant
2.
bad, unpleasant, evil (giving pain, unhappiness,
misery)
3.
evil, displeasing
4.
bad (of its kind - land, water, etc)
5.
bad (of value)
6.
worse than, worst (comparison)
7.
sad, unhappy
8.
evil (hurtful)
9.
bad, unkind (vicious in disposition)
10.
bad, evil, wicked (ethically)
1.
in general, of persons, of thoughts
2.
deeds, actions
Evil
holds many shades of black, from profoundly malevolent and immoral, to disagreeable,
unpleasant, hurtful and unkind. There are many shades of gray that have the
potential to trap us through our words, deeds, actions and responses. We must
guard our ways and our tongues with a Holy Obedience to the Ordinary.
Let’s
pray:
Lord,
we ask that you would quicken our spirits when we are approaching situations
that are not healthy and righteous for us. Give us the strength and conviction
to be able to depart from its presence and stay on the road of righteousness.
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