“Do not enter into the path of the wicked, and do not go down the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and walk away.” “For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.”
Let’s look at the first part of this writing. “Do not enter into the path of the wicked, and do not go down the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it,…” The best way that I know to avoid temptation, is to not walk up its sidewalk, turn up to its house, and go up to the door and knock on it. Don’t even go in the direction of wrongdoing.
The bible says that Judas sought a convenient time to betray Jesus. The chief priest did not come looking for Judas. He came looking for them. All evil has to find a dark and secret place to hide in order to perform its work. So in this particular scripture, “…they eat the bread of wickedness…,” means that they labor with their hands to perform wicked deeds. There is an effort put forth on their behalf to walk in the paths of sin. They spend their time thinking, planning, and seeking ways in which they might commit sin. I can promise you that doing wrong is exactly that. It is a labor. It is not easy. It is a heavy burden to be borne. As we all know...there is no lasting joy in it. An adulteress was once quoted as saying to her lover, “Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning…” Notice the time span of her commitment is only “until morning”. That is about how long the joy that sin brings can last, and when it is gone it is replaced by heaviness, guilt, and fear. God’s love is eternal and his peace...past understanding.
When the writer continues by saying, “they drink the wine” he is referring to their ideology, philosophy, or doctrine. Wine is something that is carefully prepared, and then processed over time. It is not something that happens overnight. People do not become what they are whether good or evil in just a moment. They become what they are through consistent behavioral patterns, patterns that either become better or worse with age. You don’t become a basketball player just because you step onto the court. You become a player through years of practice. There are those in this world that are not interested in repentance. They take joy in iniquity. Their goal is to build upon their deeds, create their wicked doctrines... then live them out....and teach others to do the same!
What can we do through wisdom to avoid temptation, failures, and bad habitual behavior? How can we live right? I believe that the single most important element is a divine connection with God. I believe that that divine connection comes through becoming a child of God through faith in Christ. The direction of our lives is directly affected by who we are as people. If you are the son or daughter of a millionaire, more than likely, you are not going to be poor...If you are the child of a famous scientist, more that likely, you are not going to have a problem understanding math or science...if you are truly a child of God, you will learn to love Him and walk in his grace and truth!
According to the bible, Jesus once spoke to Satan saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” This was in response to the devil’s provoking statement saying, “If you be the Son of God, make these stones to be bread.” In the bible, bread is representative of the work of man’s hands. In those days bread was not bought in a store, but made straight from the kernels of wheat. The wheat was softened by water, ground into flour, and the flour kneaded into dough, and the dough cooked into bread. All of this was done by the work of the hands. In other words, satan was saying, “Do something to prove your divinity. Show me the works of your hands.” Jesus’ response was, in essence, “I don’t have to do anything to prove what I am. God’s word does that for me.”
In order to verify whose children we belong to, a simple blood test is all that is needed. In the same sense, once we come into relationship with God, we don’t have to do anything to prove that we are our Father’s children. Another simple blood test can reveal that information, but not a physical blood test, a spiritual one. The blood that God is looking for is the blood of his Son applied to our heart and spirit, through our asking forgiveness for our sins. Forgiveness and freedom from a guilty conscious can be obtained simply by believing that Jesus Christ was sent by God to die upon the cross for our sins, and asking His forgiveness for whatever it is that we have done.
“Whosoever is born of God does not practice sin; for His seed (God’s Seed), remains in him: and he cannot sin (Fall short of God’s Love), because he is born of God.” We are what we are because we are God’s seed, his children. The seed of his spirit is in us, not because of any work of righteousness that we might do. For the child of God, there is never a convenient time for sin. God has placed an invisible shield around each and every Christian that serves as a sort of buffer zone to their conscious. It is called the grace of God. It is there with us at all times. We become venerable, when we purposefully walk outside of this grace.
Take time each day, not to consider what you have or have not done, but who you are. Whose family are you a part of? Whose child are you? Wisdom will examine its heart, and make sure that his or her relationship with God is right where it should be. Wisdom will be open and honest with exactly who he or she is. Wisdom will make sure that its heart is clean. Wisdom will keep us from walking in "Dark Places".