Proverbs 14:16: A wise man fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident.
Insight
The fear of the Lord causes a wise man to test what he hears. He will not be taken in. He won’t believe what the preacher says just because the preacher says it. He will check what the Word of God says. I want to say to you right now that you should not believe anything I say just because I say it. I am not the oracle of Delphi; I do not speak ex cathedra; I am not a know–it–all. You test what I say by the Word of God. There is a lot of sweet–sounding speech going out from churches and from the media. Oh, my friend, don’t believe everything you hear. Test it by the Word of God. 1
Application
In Daniel 1:8 we see that a young man purposefully made a determination to please God in a heathen culture. “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”
Does this account inspire you to purposely depart today from some evil that may be lurking in your mind, or in your heart, or even at some private location?
Motivation
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Matthew 5:30
Christianity becomes radical when believers follow Jesus and depart from worldliness. – TWEET IT
Prayer
Father, make me one who departs from evil because I fear offending You.
1. McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: Poetry (Proverbs) (electronic ed., Vol. 20, p. 130). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
