The Wicked Flee Though No One Pursues

 Read Proverbs 28

Here’s one that speaks of the attributes of living God’s way or in the everything else.

The wicked flee though no one pursues,

    but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

If you know that you are not living right, you are always looking over your shoulder.  Somebody is going to catch you sometimes.  You feel like you are always on the run. 

You know that you have it coming, but you don’t know when justice will arrive and pounce on you.  You are always on the run.

Our movies romanticize outlaws.  They are always on the run.  There is a mystery about them.  Their love affairs are breathtaking and then they are over as the outlaw is always being pursued.

In reality, the outlaw is just scared.  He is always scared.  He is always on the run even if nobody is chasing him.  He knows that he will be caught someday, but for now, he runs.

The person striving to live rightly has no such fears.  They make mistakes and seek forgiveness but do not run away in fear. They face life head-on.  Courage is their constant companion.

I love the picture of the bicycle rider going uphill as fast as he can.  There is a bear chasing him.  The caption reads, “Somedays, you find your motivation.  Somedays, your motivation finds you.”

People use fear as a motivator all the time.  Governments use it.  Corporations use it. Anyone that wants to manipulate people has used it at some point.  Some are better at using fear to manipulate than others, but it happens all the time.

Now consider the person who manipulates himself out of fear.  He knows he is not living right and he knows that it will catch up with him someday, but every day he must be on the run. It doesn’t matter if someone is after him or not.  He knows someone should be.

Solutions lie in confession, forgiveness, and true repentance, but the easier choice is just to keep running. It’s not the better choice.  It’s just easier to stay with the fear you know.

The wicked flee though no one pursues,

    but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

Those who seek to live God’s way sleep at night, don’t have to look over their shoulders, and if a fight comes their way, they have God-given courage to stand their ground.

Shakespeare and later Hemmingway said something along these lines.

The coward dies a thousand deaths.  A brave man dies but once.

Even Solomon proffered a solution for the wicked who are fleeing.

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,

    but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

Instead of living your life on the run, confess.  Seek the mercy of the Lord and live.  Your mistakes do not have to direct your life.  Even the wicked can confess and seek God’s mercy.

Chances are that few who have committed their lives to the everything else in this world will muster the courage to repent and be saved, but love and mercy are qualities that humankind has always known in God.

Why try to hide your sins and be on the run for all of your life knowing full well that nothing is hidden from God?

God sees the heart!  The only solution to wickedness is complete repentance.  Everything else is just a futile attempt to postpone the inevitable.  All will account to God.

It’s better from all perspectives to live God’s way and stay out of the everything else.

The wicked flee though no one pursues,

    but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

Just do it.  Live God’s way.

Amen.