After telling us that we should be as hard-working as the ant, Solomon advises which direction that industry should take. Wisdom dictates that unless we want our lives to be ruled by ruin and catastrophe, we need to avoid talking out of both sides of our mouths, saying one thing and doing another, cooking up devious plots to bring disaster on others, and being a “shit” disturber.  He even outlines six behaviors that the Eternal One despises. They are:

• People who look down on others,
• A liar,
• Those who hurt the innocent,
• People who harbor evil in their hearts,
• Someone who willing takes a wicked path,
• A false witness.

Wisdom calls us to look upon others with compassion and love, never in haughty arrogance, or from a position of superiority.  Liars and those who would willingly make up stories about others are people who cannot be trusted. Someone who harbors evil desires in their heart and who would harm the innocent are faithless reprobates, and are not the kind of people the wise associate with. These are all behaviors that God hates, that speak against God’s laws, and that open up a world of hurt and misfortune for those who follow their teaching.  And, as if to underscore what he had just said, he adds the “shit” disturber to his list.

Wisdom calls on us to follow God’s laws, to write them on the tablet of our hearts, to live our lives every day according to His will, to seek Him first among all things.

~SLM