DESPISING THE WICKED AND GODLY

Prov. 29:27  The godly despise the wicked; the wicked despise the godly.  NLT

      I think for the most part, we only see this verse partially fulfilled.  There is no question about the wicked hating the godly.  It has always been evident.  Godliness is despised by the world.  It is true because ungodly people don’t like it when they are around others who are living better lives than they do.  They don’t like it when they are held to a higher standard that they cannot meet.  They don’t like it when they are told that they can’t make it to heaven on their own.  They don’t like it when they are told they are not the center of the universe.  They don’t want to hear about a place called hell.  They don’t want to be told that their “goodness” is not good enough to get them into heaven.  Wicked people want to do what they want to do whenever they want to do it and however they want to do it without being told there are consequences for their behavior. 

      But, let’s be honest about it.  Do the godly despise the wicked?  We say we do, but do we?  Do we get bothered by the things the wicked do?  How much wickedness do we justify in our lives?  Do we just shun the obvious things others may see in us and embrace other things in the privacy of our lives?  Are we really so righteous that we can say that we are not wicked to some degree in our lives?  What do we turn to for entertainment?  Where do we go to be entertained?  What do we watch and read?  What do we allow to give us pleasure in life?  How much of the world’s practices do we participate in in order to get ahead in life?  How often do we stand up in the face of the wicked and denounce it and its messengers?

      As children of God, we should be standing guard over our souls and keep wickedness out.  We should care enough about Christ in us to keep wickedness away from Him.  We should take God’s command for our holiness seriously.  No, it’s not easy.  Yes, it will require much of us.  We will not be accepted by a lot of people in and outside of the church.  We will find that many will be cruel to us and want to take advantage of us.  We will not be widely accepted.  We will often be on the short end of justice.  We may be laughed at and scorned. 

       But I ask you, “Is it better to please God or man?  Is it better to be rejected by man or God?”  Daily you are making choices about whom you serve and associate with.  You will live eternally with the choices you make.  As for me, I will serve the Lord.  How about you?