Walk of Life – Day 2 – November 20 – Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs

 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: Proverbs 2:11

• To deliver thee from the way of the evil man (v. 12)
• To deliver thee from the strange woman (v. 16)

In life, discretion and understanding are absolutely essential. And the source of that is the Lord or in other words, the Word of God.  Discretion is behaving wisely or righteously or in other words, knowing how to react in any particular situation. And why do we need understanding and discretion. The reason is to deliver you from two kinds of persons, one is the evil man and the other is the strange woman. The strange woman is described in many passages in the Word of God. She can also be a symbolism of sin itself taking us away from the presence of the Lord.

Characteristics of a Strange Woman and an Evil Person

The characteristics of a strange woman from different portions of the Bible are listed below:

• She flatters with her words (Proverbs 2:16)
• She is on the way to Hell and wants to take you with her (Proverbs 5:5)
• She is not wise (Proverbs 7:4-5)
• She does not walk in the counsel of God (Psalm 1:1)
• She forgets about the covenant of God that she learned in her youth (Proverbs 2:17)
• She leads you to death … her mission is to destroy you (Proverbs 2:18-19)
• She is a sweet talker (Proverbs 5:3)
• She does not delight in the law of the LORD (Psalm 1:2-3)
• She does not prosper (Psalm 1:3-4)
• She will perish (Psalm 1:5-6)
• She wants to lead you astray (Proverbs 7:25)
• She destroys many men (Proverbs 7:26)
• She provides temporary happiness by blinding you to the truth (Proverbs 14:12)

The characteristics of evil persons or evil men are listed below:

1. Evil hearts cannot be trusted. They are experts at creating division and confusion. These people twist basic truths, do not personally take responsibility, and hide a lot of facts (Psalms 5:9, Psalms 10:7)
2. Evil persons are slanderers and speak very cordially in a flattering manner to you. They have a form of godliness. There is no true spirituality. (Psalms 50:19, Jude 8)
3. Evil hearts demand power; they cannot command power. Their supreme authority is not the Lord but their own self reference. They reject real feedback, accountability, and walk by their own rules. They know Scripture very well and can manipulate it for their own advantage. (Romans 2:8)
4. Evil hearts play on the sympathies of good-willed people, often trying to use the grace trump card. They will expect everyone to be merciful toward them but give none themselves. They demand forgiveness, warmth, and intimacy from those they have harmed with no empathy for the pain they have caused and no real intention of making amends or working hard to rebuild broken trust. (Proverbs 21:10; 1 Peter 2:16; Jude 1:4).5.
5. Evil hearts do not have any conscience and no remorse. They do not struggle against evil or sin – it gives them delight – at the same time, they go around as if they are of a noble character. (Proverbs 2:14, 15)

As a child of God, I need discretion and discernment. It is very easy to get carried away by people who have an outward show of spirituality but no practical Christian life. Never be carried away by great preaching, discern and have discretion as to who they are. If you truly meditate on God’s Word, if you follow the Lord wholeheartedly, surely you will be able to discern and have real understanding and keep your self away from wicked and evil persons. Be very systematic in your Bible reading and prayer. Have a very close relationship with the Lord. The Lord will surely preserve you from all forms of evil.