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The thoughts of the righteous are just;
the counsel of the wicked is deceitful.
Proverbs 12:5
The “thoughts of the righteous” and the “counsel of the wicked” bring to my mind the image of a just and fair king who has a corrupt advisor. An example that immediately comes to my mind is from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. There is King Theoden of Rohan and his wicked, greedy advisor, Wormtongue. Wormtongue lied to the king and subtly influenced the king through his deceiful counsel when the king was making decisions. This wicked advisor wanted to undermine the king’s authority and take the kingdom for his true master, an evil and cruel leader.
Later, the king’s mind is freed from wicked advisor’s influence through the counsel of an upright helper, and Wormtongue is kicked out – but not killed. King Theoden showed his former evil advisor both mercy and justice. Without this wicked and deceitful advisor, the king was able to think clearly and with rule with justice and peace in mind.
That’s just an example from a fictional story, but it helps illustrate these verses in a physical way. The Bible, however, is not a fictional book, and it shows us the path to salvation through Christ Jesus. We need to learn what these verses mean on more than just a physical and surface level. We need to see these things in a spiritual way from God’s point of view.
What are the thoughts of the righteous?
Within the Bible, we see that righteous people are those who keep God’s commands. So their thoughts are centered on God’s Word – understanding, believing in, and obeying it. Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus’s disciples were all considered righteous in God’s eyes because they kept His word.
They still had their faults, but they kept their thoughts on obeying God’s commands. For Christians today, we should set our thoughts on understanding God’s word and obeying it out of our love for God and Jesus.
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, they will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”
John 14:23
What is the counsel of the wicked?
“The counsel of the wicked is deceitful”. Deceitful means tricking others into getting what you want. In Genesis 3, when the serpent deceived Adam and Eve, he twisted what God had said. He put his own words there and caused Adam and Eve to doubt what God had actually said.
Jesus warned against many false prophets because they will try to deceive believers. These false prophets (pastors) sound like God’s pastors but when they speak, it’s not God’s Word. They mix their own words with God’s word to deceive people into believing what they’ve said and following that. Like the wicked advisor, Wormtongue, these people subtly influence you with their words and capture the minds and hearts of people.
Be careful and attentive to the counsel you’re receiving!
We must always be on guard against deception and try to obey God’s Word fully. We must align ourselves with God’s Word so that our thoughts and actions will be righteous, and also so that we can recognize any wickedness and deceit that the enemy might try to use against us and make us betray God.
Remember that the counsel of the righteous should guide you closer to God, should help you keep God’s Word better, since righteousness is obeying the words of God. If you need help on how to discern or how to better recognize the counsel you’re receiving from those around you, never hesitate to reach out and ask!
Written by Kenny
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