Proverbs 4:14-16

“Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not proceed in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not pass by it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; and they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.”

Wow. That’s deep. Have you ever known someone like this? Someone who always seems to have so much time on their hands to focus solely on making other people’s lives miserable. They are people who are so miserable themselves that their whole goal in life is to take as many people down with them as they can. I know people like this. I work with people like this. They are sneaky, coniving, plotters.

The sad thing is that in the past I have entertained these people and their stupidity. I’ve gotten sucked into their trash-talking about other people. I’ve sat their and allowed them to try to get information on other people out of me. For that I’m just as guilty.

Now that my eyes are opened to it, though, my shame is right in front of my face and I’m doing everything I can to turn away from that crap and not to play their little games. These kinds of people make me sick. They are sad, sad people.

I will definitely heed the warning of this verse to “not enter the path of the wicked” because, according to a few verses later, “the way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble (Prov. 4:19). Because of the darkness they live in, they have no idea what they are doing and getting themselves into and what kind of punishment they are in for.

All I can do is pray for the people I know who fit this description. Sad, sad people.