If you spell "evil" backwards you have the word "live". I guess that makes sense because to live properly and healthfully, evil has no place. I have been impressed, as you may have been, how the comparison of evil and righteousness is such a major theme of the book of Proverbs (I'm trying to read the Proverbs chapter that corresponds with each day of the month). Proverbs chapter 10 has many verses like verse 2: Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, But righteousness delivers from death.
or verse 6: Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.
It seems that this touches every aspect of living: from work, to speech, to our relationships with the old, the young, the poor, the rich...It seems pretty obvious that you should choose the "righteous" path over the "evil" or wicked path. There just isn't much upside if you choose the downside. Apparently we don't have much sense when it comes to knowing how to choose a lifestyle that will make us happy. I suppose this all ties in with another major theme of Proverbs: "Wisdom". It turns out that the word wisdom comes from ancient words that mean "to see" or "to know". Proverbs 4 ties wisdom and righteousness together: (verse 11) I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. Perhaps one conclusion is that we have to "see right" before we can "live right". Proverbs 1:7 may say it best: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
If we want to really live the highest quality of life we need to examine the source of our knowledge to find if we "are seeing right". If that source isn't the Lord there is a good chance we'll find we have more in common with the "fools", the "evil ones" and the "wicked" than with the "righteous" and the "wise".
blessings,
Rob Smith
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