Proverbs 14:2
“Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is devious in his ways despises him.”
It is not often the word uprightness comes into our speech in 2018 it must be one of those church words that preachers use. Maybe I need to explore the meaning of the word in a dictionary “Uprightness” I found these words; decency, honesty, morality, honorableness, and we could sum them all up with the word integrity. This is the reason if you are a seeker of truth; words and there meaning are essential. So I looked at other versions of the Bible to see how they handle the translation of the word “Uprightness” and want to go with the Holman Study Bible in Proverbs 14:2, “Whoever lives with integrity fears the Lord, but the one who is devious in his ways despises Him.”
Once more I am driven to Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” I believe that is a man of integrity and how I desire to be that man and yet often I find myself falling short of those basic requirements. Often I find, and I mean frequently, I do as 2 Corinthians 13:5 instructs; “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” Now the question is not am I in Christ, for that was settled long ago in a hotel in Victoria, Texas; it’s about am I allowing the Holy Spirit to guide my life, am I open to His leadership, do I obey when He speaks? That is a test each of us who claim to have a relationship with Christ must often take.
Now we get to another word used in both translations of the Scriptures, the word devious. Do you understand the word meaning of “devious”? The devious ways in which they bent the rules: underhanded, deceitful, dishonest, unethical, immoral, fraudulent, dubious, unfair, calculating, scheming, sneaky, secret, covert, crooked. Each of us must examine ourselves, are you a rule breaker? It reminds me of a question a Policeman ask a motorist, what color was the light when you went through it? And the reply was excellent, so crafty they were not given a ticket, this was the reply; Officer I recall it being burnt orange.
Do you have a bend the rules attitude, if so it is not pleasing to our Lord it is a lousy witness to your children and the neighbors, and your fellow workers? I’ve had to fight this part of my flesh, and it has to be made to comply with the authority God has placed over you.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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