Proverbs is Filled with Comparisons Between Righteous and Unrighteous

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Following my daily Bible reading plan, I began reading the Proverbs a number of days ago and what has always been interesting to me is how much many of the proverbs are based simply in common sense. It’s almost childlike in its approach to life at times, leaving one to wonder did the people during Solomon’s day not have even a basic understanding of common sense? Solomon had to tell them?

Even in the biblical example from 1 Kings 3:16-28, I find it incredulous. There Solomon makes a difficult decision between two women. One woman says the other woman’s baby died during the night so she switched the babies. The other woman denies the charge and says it was the other woman whose baby died and switched. Seems like a stand off. Solomon weighs in and orders the baby cut in half with one half given to each woman. The fake mother thinks that’s a great idea, while the real mother pleads for the life of the child and says the other woman can have the child.

Solomon rightly determines that the mother who did not care if the child was cut in half was not the real mother and awards custody of the child to the real mother. I have a few concerns here and not over what Solomon did. My concern is the level of depravity with the woman who turned out to be the fake mother. She was absolutely fine with Solomon ordering his guards to cut the baby in half, effectively killing the child, so that neither woman had her own child. We tend to see abortionists and those who receive abortions as a matter of routine as completely heartless individuals. They seem not to have a soul because they are literally murdering the unborn person and seem to have no problem with it.

Here is a woman from several thousand years ago who exhibited the very same attitude and demeanor but toward a child who had already been born. This is absolutely unconscionable to me. How does a woman who understands the entirety of carrying a child, giving birth, and caring for that child, become so callous and hateful that she prefers another living child to be killed? How does that happen?

The book of Proverbs is replete with one example or saying after another regarding the path or trail taken by both the righteous and the unrighteous. Bear in mind, a person was considered “righteous” in the Old Testament not by what they did but by their faith in God that caused them to act in a certain way. This is very clear throughout the Bible and especially in Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith or Faith in Action chapter. James brings this out as well when he states quite succinctly that faith without works or action is dead (James 2:17). A righteous person (so declared by God through faith), is a person who acts accordingly. An unrighteous person also acts accordingly. It is also important to remember that even a righteously declared person still sins from time to time. An unrighteous person sins a great deal more. What is the difference between the way the two different people act after sinning? The righteous person senses remorse and wants to do what is right to correct their behavior and not do the same thing again. The unrighteous person couldn’t care less. For them, the ends justifies the means.

As stated, Proverbs is filled with statements and truisms that reflect how the righteous man lives. Here are just a couple of them.

Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord,
but he who is devious in his ways despises him. – Proverbs 14:2 ESV

A faithful witness does not lie,
but a false witness breathes out lies. – Proverbs 14:5 ESV

There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death. – Proverbs 14:12 ESV

A truthful witness saves lives,
but one who breathes out lies is deceitful. – Proverbs 14:25 ESV

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
but the mouths of fools pour out folly. – Proverbs 15:2 ESV

The lips of the wise spread knowledge;
not so the hearts of fools. – Proverbs 15:7 ESV

Of course, the above referenced texts are small representations of all of the wisdom within the Proverbs. There is a great deal of repetition presented in different ways, using many examples. Ultimately, the liars, fools, and unrighteous of this world will pass away and their names will be remembered no more. Only those labeled or declared righteous by God will live in His Presence eternally.

We see many examples of the unrighteous making foolish decisions and lying to subvert truth and they do this on a daily basis. @CNN is prime example of this yet in spite of it all, many on the Left either downplay completely or excuse @CNN’s less than altruistic behavior and “reporting.”

For instance, recently an individual produced a satirical GIF (video) of President Trump as a pro-wrestler taking down CNN. For thinking people it was clearly satire mocking the network. As it turns out, CNN did what they could to find out the identity of the Reddit user who created the GIF. There are a number of stories as to how this occurred, with people like Andrew Kaczynski, a reporter at CNN, stating that no one threatened anyone and how the creator of the GIF approached CNN first with apology, etc. Ultimately, each person will decide for themselves what the truth is, but given CNN’s track record of attacking Trump with lies, innuendo, and hearsay since before the inauguration, it’s a safe bet for thinking people that CNN is trying desperately to downplay their part in tracking down the individual who created the GIF.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective