Walk of Life, Day 16 – August 2020 – Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs.
“An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.” Proverbs 16:27
An ungodly person or other translations say, a worthless person or a son of belial, is one who digs up evil. It took me some time to understand this phrase. Digging is not an easy task. It needs hard work, you need to take a shovel and dig, actually throw out mud to find something. This verse baffled me. I have heard of people who dig to obtain precious things but just imagine that this ungodly person is digging up evil. What a tragic situation! The Living Bible translation says “ Idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” which is exactly what this verse means. The devil is the greatest accuser. Remember him standing before the Lord and accusing Job. And a person who helps the devil in accusing others, slandering others, finding fault with others, pinpointing mistakes, criticizing, is his most faithful servant!
A person who keeps on digging up the the sins and mistakes of others, is ungodly in the eyes of God. The Lord does not approve of us judging others or literally using a magnifying glass to find mistakes in other’s lives and enjoy the bad reputation we successfully earn for them.
An ungodly person tries to disturb the peace of others by reminding him/her of their mistakes or plotting evil for others, relying on their own strength. Such people waste their time and negative energy and satisfy their carnal desires.
The verse continues to say that in his lips there is a burning fire. This ungodly person does not just try hard to find faults in other’s lives, he leaves no stone unturned in spreading what he dug up. He uses all the means that he knows of, backbiting, gossiping, whispering, slandering, and what naught to expose the other person’s fault. It is also called character assassination and it is a very serious sin.
When I began writing, I thought this is about some ungodly person but as I continued to try to understand what the writer was trying to convey, I think it is a very relevant message for all of us.
James 3: 6 says “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” These are strong words. Today we really need to appreciate one another, encourage one another, motivate each other, lift up those who are sorrowful, help the needy, be caring and loving, and spread positivity.
It is very easy to put someone down and make them feel terrible or say hurtful words against others. Rather every day find something good to say about someone…say a word of appreciation, say something nice, make someone happy, let me assure you this world will be a better place to live in. It is important that we do not encourage those who say something against someone. Always remember, those who speak ill about others to you will speak ill about you to others. Be very careful about what you speak and also what you hear or pay heed to. Remember we are accountable for every single idle word.
