Proverbs 13:6 Righteousness guards the man of integrity,
but wickedness overthrows the sinner.

This is put interestingly, because we don’t usually personify our actions like this. The first half brings to mind Ephesians 6:14, which in turn is an echo of Isaiah 59:17, speaking of righteousness as an objective thing, a breastplate to guard our vital organs. The thing is, if we are living right, we simply don’t give evil chances to attack us. That’s not to say we don’t come under attack, but rather that we don’t present opportunities for attack. Conversely, sin destroys us, as the Japanese puts it very bluntly. Actually, the New Testament backs up the second half big time, with such statements as, “The wages of sin are death.” (Romans 6:23) The problem with all of this is that only one person has ever been perfectly righteous, without sin, and that is Jesus. All the rest of us have defied God in multiple ways, and so deserve destruction. That’s why God’s grace is so amazing, and why it is such good news! We are given the opportunity to abide in Christ, the perfectly righteous one, by faith. When we do that, the devil indeed cannot touch us. (1 John 5:18) Life on this earth, from the point we are born again by faith until the point we are lifted to stand before the throne of God, is a process of learning more and more how to abide in Christ. Even Paul was very clear that he hadn’t arrived yet. (Philippians 3:12-14) So the takeaway from this verse in Proverbs is that we need to set our sights on Christ, to walk in His righteousness, recognizing that the junk we go through is the result of sin, our own and others’, and seek to add to that junk as little as possible!

I am no more exempt from this principle than anyone else, and as a pastor I am called to help others understand it as well. The world, with the encouragement of the devil, doesn’t want people to under­stand that sin will destroy them. We have seen a push in the past 50 years to “normalize” sins that in the past were immediately recog­nized as evil, and the pace of that has really picked up even more recently. I’ve got to stand, in my own life and in the church, on the truth of God and not swallow the “sugar coated feces” of the devil! We are called to be a demonstration that righteousness is possible by the grace of God, and the world is indeed watching. I am to extend the love and grace of God, but not confuse that with excusing sin, in myself or in others. Sin is to be repented of, not overlooked.

Father, this is a constant issue, and it goes back all the way to the Garden of Eden. Help me indeed abide in Christ, and teach and lead others to do the same, so that many may be brought from death to life, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!