Be *RIGHT*, or *BE* Right--Which Do You Want?

It’s the goodness of God that leads men to repentance.

So—conversely—I guess that means it’s the design of the Enemy to cause men to feel completely justified with all their actions.  And to make no apologies for such actions.

Typical. 

But it’s up to us to resist the inclination to self-justify.  It’s our challenge, our assignment to keep our spirits clean, to seek out a gracious attitude, and a soft answer.  It’s our task to pursue righteousness and not evil.  It doesn’t just happen—it’s work, and it’s intention, but it’s right.  It involves us embracing humility and service, instead of pride and vindication.

Proverbs 11:16-23 NKJV

A gracious woman retains honor,
But ruthless men retain riches.
¹⁷ The merciful man does good for his own soul,
But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.
¹⁸ The wicked man does deceptive work,
But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.
¹⁹ As righteousness leads to life,
So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.
²⁰ Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord,
But the blameless in their ways are His delight.
²¹ Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished;
But the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.

²² As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout,
So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.

²³ The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

Oh, sometimes, this is so hard.  We are treated unfairly, and the first inclination is to go set everyone straight.  The first inclination is to make sure everyone around us knows what’s what.  And believe me, I understand from recent, personal experience.

But as I read the Proverb above, I realize—“Well, April, that’s probably not very gracious, is it?  And what do you want?  Justification, or honor?”

Can anyone else hear the crickets?  Or is it just me?

And verse 17?  “The merciful man does good for his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.”  So, let’s consider this:  to be someone who extends mercy, it means that someone did something to you that would require mercy.  Speaking logically, someone must have done you wrong.

The merciful man wouldn’t stick-it-to-‘em.  The merciful man wouldn’t gloat as the offender got their just desserts.  The merciful man would seek to be understanding, would be kind, though it really wasn’t warranted.

That’s the job of the cruel man—but “he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.”  There’s no rest for the cruel man.  Just more strife, more trouble, more anxiety and worry, more guilt and hatred and chaos.

“The merciful man does good for HIS OWN SOUL.”  Not because it’s easy.  Because it is RIGHT.

Lord, I have so much to learn.

So many other jewels abide in this passage.  To sow righteousness is to have a sure reward.  Righteousness leads to life, but those who pursue evil pursue it to their death.  Those who are blameless in their ways are the delight of God—powerful thought, indeed!—but those with a perverse heart are an abomination.  Eek.  God forbid I ever approach that designation!

The bit about the “ring of gold in a swine’s snout” is a classic for sure—and it’s the picture I see whenever I see a “lovely woman who lacks discretion.”  Yikes.  Soooooey! *cue Old McDonald*

At any rate, Lord help me be the person in the first half of verse 23—“The desire of the righteous is only good…”—because sometimes, when I’m world-weary, and things don’t go for me exactly as they ought; when I can only see my own situation, and not the bigger picture—it’s so easy to want to be the person in the second half of the verse, “But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.”

“I hope they pay for what they did.”

Look, sometimes, people do need to pay a price for their misdeeds.  But for us to walk around and want vengeance on every single emotional paper-cut inflicted by another is to live a life where your expectation becomes one of wrath, all the time.  

Do you have that kind of emotional energy?  I don’t.  Of course, some people feed on that.  But I’ve found it’s kind of like a sugar-rush.  It doesn’t last very long, and the crash afterwards?  Pretty brutal.

So, today—I need the Lord to help me be:

            The gracious woman, who retains honor

            The merciful man, who does good for his own soul, by offering mercy to others

            The person who sows righteousness, which leads to life

            The woman who walks blamelessly in all her ways

            The woman with discretion, so I don’t end up being likened to a barnyard animal

            The person that desires only good, in every situation, and not wrath

Tall order, indeed.  So glad I’m not the one responsible for making it all happen!  I need His help.

I need it every day, every hour, every minute.

It’s the goodness of God that makes me realize this—it’s His goodness that leads me to repent, and ask for His help.