Who Are You Listening To? Series

Proverbs 16:29-30 reads:

A man of violence entices his neighbor And leads him in a way that is not good. He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things; He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass. (Proverbs 16:29-30, NAU)

The false voices in the world often are not reprehensible to us. They entice, they are attractive. The type of wickedness a Christian is likely to fall into isn’t the obvious wrong things – at least not right away. If someone asked you out-rightly to kill the person standing next to you or rob the corner store, your likely answer (I hope) would be no. But the wicked entice – they tempt, persuade, and charm. And when you feel like you’re in too deep, they ask more of you, and it is harder and harder to refuse. That is why we must test the spirits – for sometimes their origin is not immediately obvious.

Another proverb says,

For the lips of an adulteress drip honey And smoother than oil is her speech; (Proverbs 5:3, NAU)

What is wrong is generally made out to sound very good by the wicked. What trips the Christian up is bad company that slowly confuses our thinking.

The last part of that proverb up there says, He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass. Ever have someone tell you, “Just don’t say anything about it.” Whatever ‘it’ is, compressing your lips and remaining quiet is usually easier and less painful or embarrassing than discussing and trying to correct something that is wrong. You pray it would all just blow over, even though you know it wouldn’t be right if it did.

If you are seeking God and trying to walk with Him, but you are not experiencing His peace, you might be listening to the wrong voice.

Senator Foley

Florida’s former senator, Mark Foley, has been in the news a lot lately regarding his inappropriate emails to teenage pages. There is some question as to the extent of which other congressional leaders were aware of the messages. A popular saying is, “Loose lips sink ships,” but even more true is the proverb: “compressed lips bring evil to pass.”

Those who were aware of the emails had a moral duty to intervene. Both Mr. Foley and those who said nothing listened to the false voices: “It’s an election year, you can reprimand him later. Why rock the boat? No one will know.”

By keeping quiet, they allowed evil to continue. After the fact it seems so obvious what the right thing to do was. But I’m guessing that even for the person who leaked it to the media, it wasn’t an easy decision – but I’m glad they did. And while Senator Foley’s ship may have sunk, he is at least reported to finally be seeking treatment for alcoholism and behavioral problems. As difficult at this may be, it is far better than continuing on the wrong road.

So beware of the easy road, the enticing path. The easy way isn’t always wrong, but watch out for it and don’t take it too readily.

Even if we are godly people, wicked friends can lead us astray. And wicked friends can allow us to continue in ungodly ways, even if they don’t take the path themselves. They speak in smooth and flattering speech, and it is easy to be tricked into following them if we are not busy seeking the voice of God.