Year 5, Day 315: Proverbs 24

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

After spending two days on appetite, I figured that it was only fitting to speak about approval.  Human beings seem to either be chasing their own desires or chasing the desires of the people around them.  Part of chasing the desires of the people around us is getting their approval.

Proverbs 24 specifically warns us about this.  At the opening of the proverb we hear that we are not to be envious of evil men and we are not to desire to be in their company.  When we continue the opening thought we hear the Solomon is warning his son that the reason for this is the desire in their heart and the way that their evil comes out upon their words.  In other words, evil in other people is contagious.  If we spend time in the company of evil people then their evil may well transfer into us.  We will learn their behavior.

In fact, we will learn their behavior willingly!  If we seek to be in the presence of evil people then we will embrace what they embrace.  If we desire what evil people desire then we will imitate them in order to get what they have!  If we seek to be in the company of evil people we will learn to talk as they talk and let evil pour forth out of our mouth.

It is amazing what humans will turn to when we are looking for approval.  It is important to know the quality of the person from whom we are seeking approval.  If we are not careful, we will find ourselves imitating evilness and self-centeredness while we tear down the community around us that we should be building up and with whom we should be participating.

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