"A Wicked Man"

I was re-reading the description in Proverbs of God's view of the wicked man. Check this out:

A worthless person, a wicked man,
Walks with a perverse mouth;
He winks with his eyes,
He shuffles his feet,
He points with his fingers;
Perversity is in his heart,
He devises evil continually,
He sows discord.
Proverbs 6:12-14 NKJV

Look at how much of this description includes physical movement. This kinda jumps out at me considering what I recently covered in the post, "Good Liars? Or Just Practiced Diversion Artists?" The first action described in this passage is the "perverse mouth"...i.e...lying. Then the winks (facial expressions), the distracting footwork and hand movements. The narcissist/psychopath has been fully exposed by the Bible. Most of us have missed that fact.

Perhaps because good people are often loathe to assume the worst of someone, the motivations for these behaviors is exposed for us: the wicked man is continually devising evil, he is perverse in the seat of his emotions (the heart, the seat of desire), and his intention is to sow discord. God, who alone claims the ability to read the hearts and minds of men, is taking all the mystery out of the motivations of the evil person. We are being told just how much we should trust the evil man. The answer: not at all. Any person who is continually devising evil plots is never to be trusted.

So whom does God consider wicked? He doesn't leave any doubt on this point.

These six things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.
Prov. 6:16-19

First, you have to take in just how great the hatred God holds for these things is. The first sentence above uses the word "hates" and then, in the next sentence, uses a similar word which hones in more tightly on the level of emotion that "hates" is intended to portray. The word abomination according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary means, "extreme disgust and hatred: loathing". But, considering this is the Bible, we need to look at a Bible dictionary to get the full flavor. The noun form of the word in the original Hebrew "defines something or someone as essentially unique in the sense of being 'dangerous', 'sinister,' and 'repulsive' to another individual." Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary pg. 1

So we need to look at the descriptors which follow the statement about God's hatred in light of someone God Himself considers to be "dangerous", "sinister", and "repulsive".

• A proud look.
• A lying tongue.
• Hands that shed innocent blood.
• A heart that devises wicked plans.
• Feet that are swift in running to evil.
• A false witness who speaks lies.
• One who sows discord among brethren.

If God considers these things to be repulsive, sinister and dangerous, shouldn't you? How can we invoke God's name to people who are caught in a relationship with a "wicked man" and tell them that God expects them to remain married to, or in some other relationship with, such a person? That is blasphemous. God is not divided against Himself. He doesn't describe the wicked man, and then elsewhere demand that people stay locked in a relationship with such a person.

When you study the word "wrath" in the Bible as it pertains to God's wrath you see that His wrath is most often demonstrated by withdrawing His presence and protection. Did you catch that? God withdraws His presence from wicked people...so should you if you are going to wear His name. How can we possibly pretend that God is impressed with us when we choose to stay in close association with evil people? How can we convince ourselves that God, in whom resides all virtue, would call us righteous for condoning, coddling, making excuses for, and staying in close relation to evil when He won't do those things Himself? We really need to think instead of offering platitudes or condemnations to people suffering in abusive relationships. We need to think before accepting such proffered nonsense. To use the name of God to enforce relationships with evil people is nothing short of blasphemy...i.e. using the name of the Lord in vain. Anything that trashes God's reputation falls under the purview of the third commandment (Exodus 20:7). People who have the good sense God gave them will see those Christians who enforce relationships with evil people as being cruel and heartless. They naturally assume that must mean God is cruel and heartless. God's reputation gets a bad rap because you took His name to support your screwy opinions.

If you've been treated to lectures by other Christians because they don't approve of you leaving a wicked man (or woman) please disregard them as the ignoramus they are. They don't speak for God. God speaks for Himself in Proverbs six.