Do The Opposite
Psalms 36:1-4 NKJV
1 An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.
3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
4 He devises wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself in a way that is not good;
He does not abhor evil.
Sometimes the way to know what to do is to know what not to do. These four verses outline how a wicked person acts. Wicked in Scripture is not the same as we use the word today. Today, we think someone who commits a heinous crime. In Scripture, a wicked person is in error—big time.
So to avoid being a wicked person, do the opposite of what we see in these verses—starting with a fear of God. The wicked do not have it, but we do. We have a huge respect for God and His ways. We are not afraid of punishment, but we are keenly aware of His power and holiness.
Do not flatter yourself in your own eyes. We are to think well of ourselves, after all, God has done a work in us as His new creations. But we don't have an inflated view of ourselves or our importance. Don't flatter yourself is good advice.
Do not do the things you know are wrong. Don't intentionally move toward sin, and don't hate. Period. Don't sin and don't hate people. Easier said than done, but totally needful.
Do not speak words of wickedness and lying. Words are important. Death and life are in our words. Speak words of life and words that impart grace to those who hear.
Don't stop walking in wisdom, see yesterday's devotional, and don't stop doing what is good. There is a plethora of foolish ways to walk in, don't. And don't become weary in doing good. Galatians six tells us we will reap a harvest of good if we don't give up.
Don't think of ways, pre-plan, to do wrong. Thinking of ways to do evil will set you on that path, and it's not going to turn out well. Don't tolerate evil; reject and loathe evil.
That's enough to keep us busy for a while. That's also enough to keep us out of trouble.