Proverbs 4:27 “Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.”
Throughout April (4), we have highlighted verses from Proverbs 4 as this is one of the most instructive chapters in the Bible on taking actions that bring life and prevent death. It opens with an appeal to hear and be fully attentive to the instruction, as the teachings are GOOD. See Proverbs 4:1-2. Then comes the strongest advice to acquire wisdom, as wisdom is the principal thing. To live life the way God intended it to be lived, one needs to get HIS INSIGHTS and INSTRUCTIONS. These insights and instructions are called WISDOM!
As we move toward the end of the chapter, we learn how to stay spiritually healthy. Proverbs 4:23 may be one of the most important verses we must learn and apply as we are told to GUARD our hearts with ALL DILIGENCE for out of it comes the very issues of life. To guard our hearts calls for putting the right things in and keeping the wrong things out.
To be spiritually healthy, we must put the WORD of God in our hearts.
To be spiritually healthy, we must keep the wrong things out:
by watching our words, keeping our conversation clean, and telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
by watching what we watch. Just as we set a guard on our mouth, we set a guard on our eyes. We commit to setting nothing wicked before our eyes. (See Psalms 101:3)
by watching where we walk. If we are to have the right practices, we will need to be at the right places. Too often we yield to temptation because we are at the wrong places. Proverbs 4:26 tells us to PONDER OUR PATH so that we don’t put ourselves in places where we are prone to fall.
The chapter concludes with REMOVE YOUR FOOT FROM EVIL. This is a call to take personal responsibility for all of our actions. Based on the previous instructions, the reader is informed to do what is RIGHT. Now is the time to make your decisions. Removing your foot from evil means STOP DOING IT. It means CUT IT OUT! It means QUIT IT.
This closing call to take personal responsibility for yourself leaves no room for excuses. Proverbs 4 tells of the benefits of walking on the path of righteousness and the damage that evil brings, telling you to AVOID the highway to hell.
The question now is, how do you RESPOND? What ACTIONS do you need to take NOW? It is your move!
Stay spiritually healthy by heeding the instructions of Proverbs 4!
Continue Strong, doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong,
And remember to DATE the Word