November 6

Nov 6 - Today from Proverbs chapter 6 we look at verses 12-14
"A scoundrel and a villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth, who winks with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers, who plots evil with deceit in his heart - he always stirs up dissension."

To start, I would like to extract and couple the first and last thoughts of this comment; "A scoundrel and a villain always stirs up dissension." Always. It is my belief that the Teacher is not instructing the students not to become a scoundrel, rather he is instructing them to be discerning of a scoundrel. To stay away from them (not get relationally involved), because the outcome of the scoundrel's activity is consistently the same. More often than not, there is a seductive way about scoundrels. They have a charming air about them, and they are very convincing in drawing others into their mischief. We see reference to this in the middle section of today's scripture. He's not cloaked in some dark corner whispering a dastardly plot, he is very openly animated and enthusiastic about what he is presenting to his audience. (He is also very selective about where he is and who is in his audience.)
Things are not always as they appear. Consider the greatest scoundrel of all, "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." (2 Cor. 11:14.) How do we know when we are being duped by a scoundrel, being pulled into one of his/her schemes? We need to know two things: (1) Our purpose before God, and (2) the quest of the scoundrel.
First, our purpose: To love God with all of our heart, soul strength and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Love. Love bears fruit of righteousness. Love makes peace. Love provides for. Love lifts the other. Love puts other first. We are to live in a serving community in a vital relationship with God. We need to continually focus on and strive toward that purpose, functioning in the power of the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of unity and fellowship.
Second. The quest of the scoundrel: To stir up dissension. Self. Selfishness is fruitless. Selfishness causes divisions. Selfishness is more interested in 'serve-us' then in 'service'. Selfishness puts the other down. Selfishness puts self first. The Hebrew language in this passage is very graphic in regards to such a character. Scoundrel is one who produces no profit to society. They are takers, not providers. Villain is one who exerts himself in vain. The word vain has two definitions, and both are applicable here. One is 'to think highly of self' and the other means 'to no avail'. If our purpose is to be fruitful in service to others, it stands to reason that one who thinks highly of himself will exert himself to no avail in God's economy. He always stirs up dissension. Dissension is to quarrel, striving with another over preference or opinion.
Dissension is both a tool of the scoundrel, and a result of the scoundrel's activity. Divide and conquer. The pieces are not as strong as the whole. Without the introduction of a cause for dissension, the scoundrel will never achieve his self-serving goals. His/her first step in a scheme is to build a dissenting power base. He/she does this by pulling in unsuspecting comrades. "He winks with his eye, signals with his feet, motions with his fingers. . ." all cultural activities of comradeship; "letting you in on the action" (sic). He/she convinces others that "we are right in our stand and cause," and because we are right, it's okay to be unkind. Because we are right it's okay to bend the rules. Because we are right, it's okay to sow discord. It's amazing how easily even believers will abandon grace because it is more important to be right.
"Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." We do well to heed the lesson of the Teacher. The scoundrel does not wear the costume of a scoundrel. Often it is the costume of the righteous. The discerning then, must look at the heart; is the motivation 'fruitfulness through unity and love', or is the motivation 'my way because it's the right way'?
Avoid the scoundrels - even the righteous ones. They always stir up dissension.