Proverbs 28:5 (NIV)
Evildoers do not understand what is right,
but those who seek the LORD understand it fully.
The movie, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” is a very entertaining
movie, but also a disturbing one as it reminded you of the financial collapse
of 2008 that lingers to this day. It
portrayed the risky and reckless lending practices by financial institutions
led by greedy individuals who rather suddenly could not recover billions of
dollars in loans and caused massive panic resulting in the fall of major
companies, billions lost in the stock market, housing prices plummeted, and the
resultant loss of hundreds of thousands of job.
What is portrayed in this movie more than anything else is the
pathological love of money. The love of
money…….hmmmm…….what does the Bible say about the love of money? The love of money is the root of all kinds of
evil (Note: George Bernard Shaw once said that “the lack of money is the root of
all evil” and I believe that is true too!)
So,
when I see the word “evildoers” in this verse, I think of those who have an
obsessive love of money and you see this throughout our society. Capitalism flourishes because of the love of
money. Drug dealing, prostitution,
corporate ladder climbing, advertising, sports and so much else in the fabric
of our society flourish because of the love of money. And, each of us, no matter who you are, has
an innate desire to be greedy (Ephesians 5:3, 5). Jesus warned His followers to be on the
lookout for all kinds of greed (Luke 12:15).
So,
evildoers include the greedy. What else
characterizes an evildoer? An evildoer
has no fear of God (Psalm 36:1). That’s
why Proverbs 28:5 states that evildoers do not understand what is right. Read
Romans 1:18-32 to learn more about God’s indictment against those who do not
fear Him. An evildoer cannot see his/her
actions as evil because of self-deception.
Satan is the great deceiver and works in the lives of evildoers through
self deception. Evildoers have
themselves rather than God as the center of their universe. Evildoers flatter themselves, cannot detect
or hate their own sin, speak wickedly and deceitfully, fail to be wise or act
good, plot evil, and do not reject what is wrong (Psalm 36:2-4).
Examine
your life, your motives, your words, your actions, everything and be certain
that you would not be included in what the Bible defines as an evildoer. Yes, we all still sin, even the most
dedicated Christian, but to sin is not your motive and you are well-aware of
when you do sin and can ask for forgiveness.
Again, an evildoer does not understand what is right, whereas a true
Christian does understand what is right and will know instantly when you have
sinned. How do you know when you have
sinned? Because you seek the Lord
through your time in His Word and His Word gives you full understanding of the
difference between right and wrong. Knowing
the Bible is the key to knowledge of what is good and what is evil.
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