Avoid Ungodly Counsel

Proverbs 1:8-19

8 My son, hear the instruction of your father,
And do not forsake the law of your mother;
9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head,
And chains about your neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.

11 If they say, "Come with us,
Let us lie in wait to shed blood;
Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;
12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
And whole, like those who go down to the Pit;

13 We shall find all kinds of precious possessions,
We shall fill our houses with spoil;
14 Cast in your lot among us,
Let us all have one purse"—

15 My son, do not walk in the way with them,
Keep your foot from their path;
16 For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.

17 Surely, in vain the net is spread
In the sight of any bird;
18 But they lie in wait for their own blood,
They lurk secretly for their own lives.

19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;
It takes away the life of its owners.

The ungodly, the ones we now call worldly, reject the counsel of God according to His word and lead others astray from Him who are not set in His ways.  We are to take this sagely advice of Solomon the wise who obtained his wisdom from God Himself (2 Chronicles 1:10-12, 1 Kings 3:12), yet we now follow one far wiser than that wisest among men, Jesus Christ (Matthew 12:42).  Nonetheless, these words of wisdom were given by God through Solomon to gain understanding to build wisdom into the hearers of His word.  We are taught by our parents,and if they are godly, we can learn from them; if not, then we are discipled by His word through teachers and ministers of the gospel who know Him and His word.  These scriptural principles and commands we learn are godly counsel which adorn us with His grace and beauty according to His image.  We will often be tempted and led astray by the enticement of sinful people, men and women alike, but are not to yield to them and their temptations which appeal to our fallen and sinful nature (James 1:12, 14-15).  We are told here not to consent to that ungodly counsel, not to go along with it so even give a nod of assent if we are not planning to follow that bad advice.  The world tempts the young especially to attack others, fighting for the sake of fighting or proving something which does not exist, seen especially in gangs or even in small groups of seeming friends who love for dragging others down into the mid with them.  They urge robbery for personal gain to get rich instead of working for it (2 Thessalonians 3:10), a rebellion against the curse on all Adam’s children (Genesis 3:19).  Yes, the ungodly would lead young people into robbery of all king pas in an attempt to defy the curse instead of listening to godly counsel and love accordingly.  This is one of the main reasons for all the wisdom throughout the book of Proverbs, to learn to walk with God as His word tells us, and not according to the old nature.  Because the ungodly run to do evil and to harm others, we avoid their intimate company (1 Corinthians 15:33) that we do not absorb their ways, knowing that they may be caught in this life, but surely will be held accountable in eternity.  They even are out to take out each other as verse 18 tells us!  The lesson includes the recompense for greed to gain riches, that it drains the seekers of their very lives.  That is the end of ungodly counsel.  In 1 Timothy 6:6 we find the right way to live, in contentment with all God gives with godliness instead, which comes from the godly counsel of His word.  Amen.