“An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

    and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.”

Proverbs 17:4

Note the parallels. I think most people would consider a liar to be untrustworthy or someone to avoid. However, I doubt many people would normally substitute the word evildoer in place of liar. Nor, do I think many people would normally think of someone who lies as having “wicked lips.” My natural reaction is that those substitutions sound harsh. Yet, God interchanges these words in these ways.

One thing I think this reveals is the contrast between how people tend to view sin and how God views sin. It seems to me that God sees sin as exceedingly sinful (or evil) and I tend to soften it a bit. Does that make me kinder than God? Not at all. It makes me less accurate than God.

Lord, help me to see how evil sin is, resulting in a greater desire to avoid it and to walk in righteousness.

“Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.”

Proverbs 16:5 ESV

One irony of this proverb is that those who are arrogant often consider themselves to be an asset to God, someone God should be happy to have around. In reality, the opposite is true; arrogance is disgusting to God … and often to people, too. Speaking from experience, arrogance causes a blindness to one’s deficiencies. Perhaps the first sign of arrogance is the inability (or unwillingness) to recognize any flaws, weaknesses, or sin in our own lives.

Another irony in this proverb is related to the assurance of punishment. So often we have our own image of what punishment looks like and find ourselves wondering when is God going to punish that arrogant person. However, the punishment for being arrogant may come in a variety of forms, some of which we may have never considered. Therefore, we should not presume to dictate to God how he should mete out punishment lest God consider us to be arrogant. In other words, we should “stay in our own lane,” focusing on our own hearts.

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

Proverbs 15:3 ESV

When we engage in deception, we are saying one of two things: 1) God is not watching, or 2) God doesn’t care. Neither is true. Integrity matters … in the big things and the little things.

“Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.”

Proverbs 14:7 ESV

Here, the writer warns us of the company we choose to keep. If your goal is gaining words of knowledge, the fool is not going to be helpful to that end. In fact, it is likely that the fool will lead your heart away from knowledge, not just keep you from gaining knowledge. Beware!