Of Integrity and Crookedness

For Thursday, January 24, 2008
Proverbs 28:18

Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered,
but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.

This is a common lesson in proverbs. Walking in integrity/righteousness carries with it the protection of the Lord who watches over those who fear him. The crooked/wicked will fall suddenly, disastrously because the Lord will bring judgment.

More often than not, this is played out in one's lifetime. The wicked are setting their own traps because of creating enemies, associating with like-minded evil-doers who are quick to turn against their own, raising the opposition of the righteous who will bring justice, being blinded by pride and greed, and so on. The righteous, on the other hand, create friends, associate with like-minded individuals who respect one another, win the support of the community, and grow in wisdom.

But the main matter is as previously stated - the righteous who walk in integrity have the blessing of the Lord; the wicked who are crooked in their ways have his wrath. Whatever one receives in this lifetime, what really matters in the life after, where one receives either eternal blessing or an eternal curse. The latter is a sudden fall than never ends.