It is an interesting point that is made here in Proverbs 1:8-19. Those who inflict evil on others hurt themselves more than those who suffer from their actions. We tend to think of suffering in terms of things that happen to us (i.e. we are abused, robbed, cheated, harmed, etc). The pearl of wisdom here is that it is not those who suffer these things who suffer the most but those who perpetrate them. Wounds will heal and what is lost can be regained, but the wrongs we do to others stick to us forever. There is of course forgiveness for us if we turn back to God, but this does not remove the scars of regret. When a person acts unjustly something is damaged in their own heart that has far deeper ramifications than the effects of what they did to the other person. It is no different than if I decided to jump off a second storey roof. My body would break because it simply wasn’t made to jump off those kinds of heights. In the same way our hearts were not meant to perpetrate injustice. When we desire things that we are not made to pursue and when we do things that go against our created purpose, we do immeasurable inward damage to ourselves. Most people can feel the strain right away but try to cover it up by self-justification and other such measures. There is only one way of life that really works and that is God’s way.
Reflect on your own attitudes and actions towards others and ask God to help you live in love.
Read Proverbs 1:8-19
