Plan Wisely
5
The plans of the godly are just;
the advice of the wicked is treacherous.
6
The words of the wicked are like a murderous ambush,
but the words of the godly save lives.
Verse 5
A good man does not plot evil plans. His plans respect God. The good man tries to help other people by his plans.
For example, someone might open a shop that sells food. If the shopkeeper is a good person, then he wants to sell good food at a fair price. But an evil shopkeeper might want to sell poor food at an expensive price.
The second part of this verse is about advice. You cannot trust an evil man’s advice. When he is advising you, he is plotting an evil plan. You do not know his plan. An evil man will not give sound advice. His advice is a lie. He wants to cheat you.
Verse 6
The evil man is like a hunter. His plans are like a hunter’s traps. The evil man wants to steal from other people. He even wants to kill them.
A simple person is in danger. If someone does not know about a hunter’s trap, that person could fall into the trap.
The good man is safe. He speaks the right words. These words are better than the evil man’s plans. The good man’s words will protect him.
You probably wouldn't label a student as evil or wicked just because they cheated on a writing assignment. But technically, they did break the whole "Thou shalt not steal" thing from the Commandments. Nowadays, it seems like the big deal isn't so much about cheating being wrong, but more about not getting caught.
But if we think about it, most students would agree that cheating is shady rather than fair play. According to Proverbs, that puts cheaters in the wicked category.
I recently heard about a senior who won't be graduating because they got caught cheating on an essay. And get this: it wasn't the first time! The student had been busted twice before and warned that a third time would mean flunking. Yet they still turned in someone else's work from a previous year, name and all.
It's pretty clear that this student doesn't have much of a moral compass. But despite that, their wickedness means they won't be moving on to graduation.
Now, here's something to think about: I've heard plenty of folks cheat on their taxes, but if it's just under a hundred bucks, does that still count as wicked?
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