You don’t talk to skunks unless you plan on getting sprayed.”
–Rod Collins (Bitter’s Run)
“The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked make themselves a stench and bring shame on themselves.”
–Proverbs 13:5 (NIV)
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“Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked. The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.”
–Proverbs 10:6-7 (NKJV)
“The godly are showered with blessings; evil people cover up their harmful intentions. We all have happy memories of the godly; but the name of a wicked person rots away.”
–Proverbs 10:6-7 (NLT)
I have fond memories of my Grandma working in the kitchen, striving to put something good on the table for us to eat, and almost always there was some kind of dessert. I can see her in my mind’s eye sitting on her bed, Bible in hand, reading it. Perhaps you have fond memories of someone, a memory that might make you smile. I like what the NKJV Study Bible says about these verses: “When a person’s name was remembered by future generations for good, that person’s life was believed to have been of great value. But when the memory of a name rotted away, it was as though that person had never lived.”
Have you noticed in the recent decades that there is an attempt to smear the lives of the men and women of the past. Don’t recall the good, but instead show that they were bad, evil people. Why? It is part of the attempt of wickedness to discredit good. We see so often today that there is an attempt by the media to make the criminal the victim. There is an attempt to cover up evil intentions.
In reality, now in this life, we are building character. It is who we are. “Character yields a present blessing or a present curse.” (J.L. Flores) How we deal with life, with others, and most importantly with God speaks volumes of who we are. “The just man’s memory is blessed because he leaves behind him reproductions of his own character.” (Flores)
Perhaps you have heard this said, “He’s just like his dad.” Or, “she takes after her mother.” This is true for better or for worse. All of life reproduces itself, not just genetically, but realistically as well. As Christians, born again believers, it should be our life goal to be like our Father in heaven. We should seek to emulate the holy walk of Jesus and let the fruit of the Holy Spirit be nurtured in our lives.
Evil abounds, that is a fact. When I was a principal I had a good idea of what the home was like when I looked at the child. I remember one event when I had to bring in a parent because the boy was speaking out in obscenities–the mother came. I asked where he got this talk and what straight out told–“that’s the way his father speaks at home.” Look at the news, see the evil, and realize that it will and does have an effect. But know this–these verses will have their complete fulfillment at the Great White Throne. Evil, those who rejected the redeeming sacrifice of Christ will be judged, found guilty, and cast into the Lake of Fire. There will be no memory of them; it will be as if it has rotted away.
However, there is the other side, as Dan Dick writes, “The memory of the just is truly blessed.” It is blessed in this life and will continue on into eternity. Therefore, one of the most important things a person can do is leave a lasting, godly legacy. “Such is the blessing and curse of God, long after the men had passed into eternity.” (Charles Bridges) We choose today whom we will serve and it will carry into eternity. Choose wisely–that is what the book of Proverbs is all about.