September 17, Proverbs 13
Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin. - Proverbs 13:15
Today’s challenge is not finding a verse to write about, but choosing one among many I’d like to explore with you. Don't you know exactly how "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (verse 12) feels? I also noted verse 20: "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." Haven't you had associates through the years who influenced you, as the wedding vows say, both "for better or for worse?”
But today we're focused on verse 15: "Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin." When I first read this chapter, I thought I had missed a reference I've known and used in messages for more than 40 years. Then I realized the ESV wording was somewhat different from the old familiar King James Version of my young life and old memory. Here it is, as you probably remember it, too: "Great understanding giveth favor, but the way of transgressors is hard." It's that last half of the verse I'm asking you to think about with me today.
It is hard when we suffer the difficult consequences of disobeying God. Have you watched a child or someone else you love learn painful lessons from experience? Did it make you sad to see them disregard good advice and suffer for it? Imagine how our heavenly Father must grieve as we hurt ourselves when we stubbornly persist in doing something he plainly warned us not to do!
Other versions and footnotes help us understand what's hard about this way. The ESV text says this way is the “ruin” of those who take it. The ESV footnote offers "rugged" for the word “hard” in three ancient versions including the one Jesus and the apostles knew. The note also says the original Hebrew word could also mean that this way is “an enduring rut." That probably explains the CSB reading: “Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous never changes.” Putting the ideas together, the transgressor is stuck in a rut that is treacherous all along the way until it ends in his ruin.
How does traveling on Transgressor's Way ruin the traveler? It may ruin his physical health. You probably know or at least know of someone who ruined their health through addiction. I have friends who were maimed or paralyzed for life by getting into a senseless accident while they were doing wrong. Sinning against God also ruins our relationships, not only with him, but with the people around us. Sadly, our sinful behavior almost always most strongly affects the people we love most. It may be that we did them actual harm by the wrong we did. Or maybe we influenced them to violate their conscience and do wrong with us.
When we walk in the way of the treacherous, we ruin the peace of mind and freedom from guilt that is our God-given birthright in Christ. And persisting in that path away from God ruins our claim to be disciples of Jesus and leads to the ultimate loss, spiritual ruin.
A friend once told me, "There are three ways to do life. There's the easy way, where you learn from others' mistakes. Then there’s the hard way, where you learn from your own mistakes. Then there's the tragic way, which is not to learn at all." Jesus said, "I am the way..." (John 14:6). He bore our sins and took our punishment and invites us to trust and follow him. Only those who humble themselves and acknowledge him as Lord can really walk in the way that is best. It's not the easiest way. Self-denial, commitment and being out of step with the world are not easy. But it is the best way. And so I ask, not to harass you, but because I love and care about you, "Which way are you doing life right now-- the easy way, the hard way or the tragic way?"
Copyright © 2021 by Michael B. McElroy. Used
by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—September 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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