Ps 7:14
14 He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment. NIV
(My paraphrase) He who became intimate with sin, and is nurturing, feeding and dwelling on evil soon will give birth to disillusionment.
- This verse is showing us that those who get close to sin, feed and grow a lie. The devil paints a picture that just isn’t true. They press forward, expecting a rewarding end. When they get there, they find disappointment and emptiness, not the happiness and fulfillment they expected. It is the end of the illusion; it is disillusionment. Prov 17:19 Are you flirting with sin? The more you flirt, the better it looks. The reality never changes. It is still sin; it still produces sin and death in your life. Prov 5:8; 7:25 Do not go near; flirting with sin is the process of swallowing the hook. Isa 59:4;
Ezek 8:12
12 Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” ESV
- In this verse they are actually talking about idolatry though when we hear about what they do in the dark with pictures we think more about pornography. Porn often is an idol though. It is worshiping sex and self gratification as god. You cannot have things like that in your life and have it not destroy your life. There is no such things as a secret Ecc 12:14; Matt 6:4; everything will come into the light, it will be exposed. It isn’t just porn, most everything that we try to keep in darkness are things we need to get rid of, things that if left may destroy us. Many leaders are destroyed by the things in their lives that have been hiding in darkness.
- John 3:19 speaks of those who love the darkness because of their evil deeds.
- “Ezek 8:7-12 They were not willing that those who saw them in God’s house should see them in their own, lest they should see them contradict themselves and undo in private what they did in public.” (from Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)
- Lord, don’t let there be darkness in my life. Don’t let sin hide and grow in me. Give me the courage and the strength to admit my weakness to get help when there are areas that I need it. When sin is dealt with quickly it doesn’t have the same effect. When we let it take root it can tear us apart when it finally gets exposed. The less we let it sit the less damage it does in our lives. Lord, help me to always be quick to repent and to stay in the light. (Prov 28:13 repenting)
Prov 3:7-8
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. NIV
It can be so easy to see myself as wise. God help me to learn from others that are wiser than me and to always be obedient to you.
Fearing the Lord is something that I have had to learn how to do properly. We are not supposed be afraid of God but we are supposed to view Him as holy and treat Him with respect.
Shunning evil seemed to be a pretty simple command yet figuring out what that looks like became complex. If I am to shun evil, then I should run from temptation, be careful of what I am thinking about, and stay away from people who are happily living in sin but calling themselves Christians.
Prov 14:16 A wise man fears the lord and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.
This scrip tells us to actually SHUN evil…what does shun mean???
The dictionary definition of shun: to avoid somebody or something intentionally. That does not mean to avoid everyone who does something wrong because we are all sinners(Rom 3:23). But if someone is saying they serve God but is refusing to live it we are told to AVOID them.
