“Turn away from evil and resist temptation at every turn.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – December 26, 2024
Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked. Proverbs 25:26, NIV
In recent years, my wife and I have often discussed the quality of the water in our home. Though we live in the country and have relatively clean water from a local reservoir, we know it is still full of contaminants that are likely to have a negative impact on our health and the health of our children. As such, we actively do what we can to counteract this fact. We depend on the water from our reservoir, yet we do not simply passively receive it and take it in uncritically. We intentionally run it through filters in an effort to consume only what is pure and good for our health.
In many ways, there is an analogy here between the water we drink and what we consume in our lives of faith. Proverbs 25 acknowledges our world is filled with potential contaminants, things that muddy springs and pollute wells. We could easily list these off: selfishness, pride, longing for power, greed. These vices and countless more like them contaminate the purity of humble service, selfless love, and sacrificial generosity.
To be filled with the indwelling life of the Spirit is to have a river of pure, life-giving water running through you, sustaining and upholding you in every moment of every day. We must, therefore, strive to keep our lives free from any and all contaminating influences, turning away from evil and resisting temptation at every turn. In fact, it is the failure to resist, accepting evil as an “inevitable” part of our lives, that this Proverb so strongly cautions against.
“The righteous who give way to the wicked.” What a fascinating phrase, worthy of deep reflection and meditation. Today’s verse speaks of God-fearing people – “the righteous” – whose failure is to “give way” to the wicked. Giving way to wickedness isn’t a celebration of evil but resignation from weariness and exhaustion. It accepts evil as “the way of the world” and gives up the fight. Let us never fall into this category. May we instead keep the faith and struggle until the very end, for God is with us, and he is our strength.
Prayer
Father, may we never “give way to the wicked,” instead pursuing the life of your kingdom with our every breath, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Consider any ways in which wickedness has muddied the water of your life.
Related Reading
Proverbs 3:7; Ephesians 5:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:22
Worship Resource
Jenn Johnson and David Funk: Center (Acoustic)
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