Proverbs 2:15 “men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways”
A young man I knew in Scotland through work was a great darts player. A couple of times I found myself being in his company after work and playing darts together, occasionally we played darts against other people in the bar and once we played for drinks. [this was in my BC days]. Unbeknown to me one day he arranged a game for drinks with a couple of men in a bar, and he knew that neither of us had the money on us to meet our debt if we lost. I remember finding this out in the middle of a game of 501. I realised the danger we were in as were in their local bar, not ours. Unfulfilled debts would be taken very seriously indeed.
I think that was my first warning. After that, I did not spend time with this young man – oh by the way we did win the game (I threw a double 10 as the winning dart) and I could not wait to get out of that bar.
I later found out that he would at times put his foot through a handbag handle on the floor and drag it out of the busy bar with him and then steal any money in it. I think about what could have happened had I stayed in his company, and I am glad that I did not. Sometimes we get a warning – if you do – take it seriously.
KNOWLEDGE
Again the writer is emphasising the type of influences and people that we will be guarded against, simply by seeking, listening and calling out for wisdom and understanding. These men [influences] are skilled and practised in deception, their whole way of life is given over to deceiving others and convincing others to go with them. They will cause you to slip, and slide into the trench with them, convincing you at every step that you are making great decisions and encouraging you to keep going. You will think they are your friends and are for you. They will be close companions. The warning is stark, and clear, and repeated over and over.
Did your dad or mum ever tell you over and over something not to do? Did you still do it? What happened? Whatever you do, don’t rush past this verse, don’t think “it’s not for me, I won’t ever do that”. There is a reason that God would have warning after warning, description after description, all focused on the type of people who will pull you away from him. It’s because we all need to understand how easily, quickly and completely this can happen, though seemingly small decisions.
UNDERSTANDING
Let’s pick one word from this verse to look closer at and see if that can help us gain a deeper insight into how God would love us to live?
The last word in this scripture is “ways” and it’s definitely worth a bit of a look at. The Hebrew word is pronounced “ma’gal”. It appears 16 times in the Old Testament [ESV], from 1Sam 17:20 through to Isaiah 59:8. It is translated into a few different English words, such as paths, way, encampment, and tracks. This word means the overall direction of a person’s life, which in this instance is announced to be devious.
WISDOM: what voices speak into your life – the voices of fear or faith, of doubt or determination, complaint or cause, procrastination or praise? You get to choose today!
STRENGTHS THOUGHT: Arranger – see’s the possible patterns and connections. Use them well.
Allan’s Unauthorised Version [these men who want to be your companions in life, they are warped and twisted. Their deceitfulness cannot be measured in the way they slip and slide through life].
PRAYER: Father, thank you for today. Give me great insights please as I build friendships and trust with those in my world.
Sadly, it is so easy to be tempted by cunning, devious people who will stop at nothing to entice us into their own wily schemes ending in deadly situations. Thank you, Pastor Allan, for sharing your own experience. Many of us would have a similar story to tell of situations where listening to God’s voice and acting quickly saved us from a destructive path.
I pray for God’s wisdom and strength to choose friends wisely.
Good word thanks Allan. These men the word speaks of, can be someone wanting to do business with you , who make shady decisions and really in the end they are only looking out for themselves . But their fall is inevitable. God thank you for discernment with all we put our hand to do in this life.
Thank you pastor Allan .
It’s true how we can unknowingly get drawn away into ungodly schemes of the evil one
Godly wisdom is so valuable,
I wish I had been more Obidient to God in my past ,so I could have been spared the pain.
I’m grateful for his leading in my life .i continue to Honour him in everything I do .
Because of his unfailing love for me
This message reminds me of “being equally yoked” as a warning against asociation with people who don’t have the same godly “ways” as ourselves. I have lived long enough to heed the warnings now but as a young know it all person in my past life, it was painful. I think I still have flashbacks of the bad decisions made and consequences felt by succumbing to decisions made by others over my life. I am grateful God has brought me out of darkness into the light. I appreciate the message Pastor Allan. God bless you.
I am so grateful to the Lord for the warnings He has given us in our word. It’s so true that we must know that we will always have to be on guard against the wrong voices until the day we graduate to eternity. What a powerful message.
“ seeking, listening and calling out for wisdom and understanding”. This jumped ofF the page at me. Praying I will always be listening and attentive to the voice of my Heavenly Father
So often we can feel like a verse is “not for us” but I love that idea of repeated warnings – there is clearly something here that is being conveyed and it’s for us !
Wisdom
Q: what voices speak into your life?
There is so much wisdom hidden in the proverbs.what Voice’s we choose to hear is so important. Once I was told by my son” mum I do not give you permission to speak to me that way”. He was absolutely right on that occasion also he taught me to speak carefully to him! ( still learning)!
When I was in hostel, my circle of friends made lot of jokes, I could not understand them in the first place also had to choose not to take attention to those.
Praise God for the leading of the Holy Spirit and guiding us in truth.
It is so important to hear “right voices and sound hearing”(healthy voices)and to reject the voice of fear, doubt, complaints , procrastinating and such.
Lord help is to hear Your voice and be obedient to You…I pray!
Thank you Allan.
You’ve had a very ‘interesting’ life Pastor Allan & been faced with choices which could have ended very badly but praise God even as a young man you chose wisely even prior to becoming a Christian!!
Where we have landed today is a series of events & choices we have made & often it’s mixed with the grace & mercy of God that we can testify to His kindness & goodness over our life. Unfortunately associating with people who are devious & dishonest as warned about in this verse can only lead us down paths of despair & destruction & that is why we need to choose wisely the traveling companions in our lives who are honourable & have integrity in their walk with God & others.
What a great Wisdom question – what voices speak into your life – to think that different attitudes, ways of thinking and behaving have ‘voices’ that speak into us. This is a great question to reflect on daily!
Thanks Ps Allan!
What a great Wisdom question – what voices speak into your life – to think that different attitudes, ways of thinking and behaving have ‘voices’ that speak into us. This is a great question to reflect on daily!
Thanks Ps Allan!
Our journey through life is a series of daily choices we make. Consciously or not, we make the choices for who we allow to speak into our lives. We must determine that they speak faith and not fear. We must choose that they speak determination, purpose, cause, life, encouragement, wisdom, praise and nothing that would undermine direction and purpose.
Who we keep as companions will determine the direction our lives will take.
The enemy is busy trying to undermine and compromise our stand and relationship with God. There are plenty warnings to be on guard.
Thanks Ps Allan
We should be very careful who we should invite into our lives. By their fruits you will know them.
I love that God gives us guidance in all our ways and He makes our paths straight.
One of the very best things I learnt in bible college from a very wise woman named Sandy “ always trust your flippie switch buzzer”
Listening to the HOLY SPIRIT’s prompting has saved me a great deal of heartache over the years.