PERVERSITY OR BLAMELESSNESS, YOUR CHOICE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit.

Proverbs 28:18

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

WRITER’S NOTE: After today, I will be on a ship and heading back to the United States. I will try and post while away as much as possible but if for some reason connectivity does not allow it, I will be posting daily again once I arrive home.

Have you ever lived in perversity?

Most people would be repulsed by the question and show offense, I believe.

Why?

Because we get the nouns “perversity” and “pervert” tangled up with each other when they are only slightly connected.

Don’t believe me. Look at these definitions:

Perversity (n)

1. a deliberate desire to behave in an unreasonable or unacceptable way; contrariness.

2. the quality of being contrary to accepted standards or practice; unreasonableness.

Pervert (n)

1. a person whose sexual behavior is regarded as abnormal and unacceptable.

Now, can you see that a person can be perverse but not be a pervert?

So why the deep exploration to these words and their meanings?

Because we need to have that understanding in order to allow the word of God to penetrate our hearts and minds today as we look at the 18th verse of Proverbs, Chapter 28 which reads as follows:

The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit.

A person who confuses the word “perverse” with the word “pervert” could easily gloss over this proverb as not applicable to them but when you understand that someone practicing perversity is anyone who sins and behaves contrary to the will and word of God, then you can easily stop and pay full attention to what the Lord is saying here.

And we had better pay attention.

No matter what translation you read the primary principles of this verse stay the same.

Choose to deliberately behave in an unreasonable or unacceptable way, contrary to the only acceptable standards, the standards set forth by the word and will of God (in other words, perversely), and you will fall in some way and fall hard, like into a pit kind of hard.

Conversely, choose to walk blameless in your life, obedient to the word and will of God, and you will live in safety as the Lord watches over you and keeps you in His care.

It makes sense, right?

Why would the Lord keep a sinner who rejects Him from falling as a result of choosing sin over righteousness?

If He saved everyone who was about to face the consequences of sin, then there would be no adequate incentive for people to walk blamelessly. The sinner would enjoy the same feeling of security and protection as the righteous. No, those who are perverse and decide they have no need for the right ways the Lord offers will fall in some way as a penalty for their error in judgment. It has to be that way.

But friends, I can’t close here. There’s something more that needs to be said.

For although the Lord allows the perverse to fall, He is always ready to help them up when they turn to Him in repentance and seek forgiveness. This is good news but not new news because you know most of us have experienced this in life already. I know I have. But if you haven’t, if you have not had a taste of the sweet taste of God’s mercy and grace and pardon and love because you have fallen into a pit of sin of your own making, then I pray today’s devotion is the start of a new life, a life where you choose to say “no” to anything that is outside of the will and word of God, a life where you choose blamelessness over perversity, not just today but forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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