Title
It Is What the Wicked Do
Scripture
When the wicked comes, contempt comes also; and with dishonor comes reproach.
(Proverbs 18:3)
Devotional
The evidence of the wicked is their contempt. They cannot refrain from it. They are dishonorable and therefore filled with reproach.
The wicked speak evil of which they have no understanding. Jude calls them faultfinders. You know them; they are quick to point out shortcomings or flaws in others. They are masters of destruction, and novices of edification. If they do speak well of another it is done with great swelling words for the purpose of personal gain. They patronize, never encourage. There is no room for this wickedness in the life of a believer. If we find these things in us, let us quickly repent and turn from our wickedness. Wherever there is contempt and reproach there will inevitably be this wickedness. May it be far from us. Avoid those who practice it and turn from it within us. Remember contempt and reproach are the tools of the wicked.
Text For The Day
Proverbs 18:3: When the wicked comes, contempt comes also; and with dishonor comes reproach.
Thought For The Day
“No man’s really any good till he knows how bad he is, or might be; till he's realized exactly how much right he has to all this snobbery, and sneering, and talking about "criminals" as if they were apes in a forest ten thousand miles away; till he’s got rid of all the dirty self-deception of talking about low types and deficient skulls; till he’s squeezed out of his soul the last drop of the oil of the Pharisees; till his only hope is somehow or other to have captured one criminal, and kept him safe and sane under his own hat.” G. K. Chesterton, The Secret of Father Brown
Questions To Ponder
-
Are the wicked always seen as wicked? Do they not often appear as angels of light filled with deeds of darkness?
-
Are there wicked people in your life? If so, what is to be your response to them?
-
Let me humbly ask, is there any of the wickedness mentioned in our devotion in you?
Morning Study Guide
Defining: “Wicked” To be wicked is to be morally lacking in both principle and conduct. Wickedness seems to go deeper than sinful or even evil. Wickedness appears to indicate a wanton desire to do wrong.
Referencing: “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord, but the words of the pure are pleasant,” Proverbs 15:26.
Applying: Make sure that your sinful nature does not degrade into a wicked one. If wickedness flares its ugly head in you, repent. If it manifests itself in another, flee.