Proverbs 8-9
All who fear the LORD will hate evil. That is why I hate pride, arrogance, corruption, and perverted speech. – Proverbs 8:13 NLT
Do you hate what God hates? Do the things that cause Him to become angry stir you up as well? Solomon says that the wisdom that God offers us causes us to despise the things that God despises. As we gain wisdom from God, it provides us with insight and discernment, and diminishes the foolishness and gullibility that plagues most of mankind. We end up seeing more clearly the truth about God's plan and the lies of the enemy. We begin to understand that our own pride, arrogance and self-absorption are actually evil. Our constant focus on us is wrong. It keeps us from loving God because we are too busy loving ourselves. Only wisdom gives us the ability to see that. Without the wisdom of God, we are blinded to the destructive nature of our own pride, instead thinking that our self-interest is some kind of self-preservation. Wisdom helps us see the truth. It shows us that the way of evil is the wrong way. The New Living Translation renders this phrase into a single word, "corruption." But in the Hebrew is it actually two words and they can be translated "the evil way," "the wrong way of life," "evil behavior," or "a life marked by wrong choices." Wisdom helps us learn to despise the kind of life that the world offers up as normal. We are able to see that what the world tries to convince us of as good and acceptable behavior is actually wrong and destructive. It leads to no good. It offers up pleasure, but delivers misery. It sounds and looks so good, but in the end only disappoints. Wisdom alone can help us see this. Otherwise we end up buying the lie and experiencing the pain and suffering that comes from a life marked by wrong choices. Wisdom says, "those who miss me have injured themselves" (Proverbs 8:36 NLT).
Wisdom also gives us a healthy hatred for "perverted speech." The word rendered "perverted" here comes from another Hebrew word that conveys the idea of twisted or turned around. It is convoluted, backwards, confusing, saying what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right. It is not just referring to inappropriate speech or using bad words. This has more to do with words that confuse the truth and cause us to go against the Word of God. They allows us to justify our behavior and rationalize our actions. The prophet Isaiah described it this way, "Destruction is certain for those who say that evil is good and good is evil; that dark is light and light is dark; that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter" (Isaiah 5:20 NLT). The Psalmist put it this way, "You love evil more than good, you call black white" (Psalm 52:3 MSG). Wisdom gives us the ability to see the twisted words and upside down thinking that pervades our culture, bombarding us with lies from the radio and TV, through music, movies and the media. We learn to discern that it is really twisting the truth of God and rejecting His way for another one. And we learn to hate it.
Wisdom hates all these things, because wisdom is of God. As we grow closer in our relationship to God, we see what He sees, we hate what He hates, we see truth more clearly with each passing day. The wisdom God offers cries out to me. It pleads with me to "Leave your foolish ways behind, and begin to live; learn how to be wise" (Proverbs 9:6 NLT). It's calling to you too. Do you hear it?
Father, I want to really live. I want to see with Your eyes, hear with Your ears, understand with Your mind. Give me Your wisdom Father. Help me to seek it like a lost treasure, to value it more than anything else in the world. I know that it is available to me if I search for it in Your Word. You will not just hand it to me. I must pursue it. Give me the determination and discipline to do so. Amen